


Star Fox: Descent

by Mark_Nicholson



Category: Star Fox Series
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-12
Updated: 2015-05-31
Packaged: 2018-02-25 02:02:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 59,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2604482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mark_Nicholson/pseuds/Mark_Nicholson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>5 years have past since the Angler Blitz, since Star Fox once more obtained victory over planet Venom, and since Fox had to say goodbye to his love, Krystal. Fear still dwells inside Fox of the next big threat on Lylat, and peace is something he has long lost. The time is coming, and Fox will have to collide with every fear that has ever flooded his mind and chilled his blood.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 3

            Fox froze. “Say again?”

            Peppy's suspicion that this wouldn't be good news to Fox was confirmed by the look of horror on his face. “I said that I called in the in the Star Wolf team to assist you.”

            Fox put both his hands on his forehead and slowly dragged them down to the end of his snout. “Peppy, _please_ tell me this is a joke.”

            “I'm afraid not Fox, however I have picked up few good ones that are real knockout! I could tell you those if you'd like?

            Fox 'placed' his hands on the holographic table a bit harder than he intended. His shock quickly transforming into anger. “Peppy, _what_ in _Lylat_ were you thinking?!”

            “Look Fox there really is no time to argue, that convoy...”

            “That convoy is going to end up in even more danger! Have you forgotten that Star Fox and Star Wolf are not on the best of terms?!”

            “Watch yourself boy. I know you and I have a history together, and yes maybe this wasn't my best decision, but I am still a general and you _will_ show the proper respect towards the rank.”

            Fox gritted his teeth, stepped back, and breathed a heavy sigh. Peppy was right, he owed him more respect than that. Peppy had always been good to him and had guided him through some of his most difficult struggles. Fox recomposed himself and began again, though irritation still hung in his voice. “My apologies general, but my opinion still stands. You realize that you just put two sworn enemies together in a room and told them to play nice, right? How did you even get them to agree to this?”

            “One of the most powerful things in the universe.”

            _Money._ Fox thought, feeling stupid for asking that question.

            “As for why I called them in, I will reiterate how great a number of fighters attacked our convey! I was afraid they would be too great for even you to handle, and I didn't want to put you or your team in any more danger than I had too. When I saw that Star Wolf was also in the area, I contacted them and paid a painfully large sum for Wolf and his team to help out. I informed them that you would be there as well, and that they were not to open fire on you. If they do, I will send the Cornerian reinforcements that's on its way after them as soon as this is all over.”

            Fox stood contemplating this. Peppy's reasoning made sense, and Fox was thankful for how the general was looking out for them. Although his threat to Star Wolf didn't sound very reassuring. Wolf O’Donnell and his team had evaded the Cornerian army many times, this would be no different.

            “Now enough debate, you need to get out there! I fear it may already be too late...”

            “We're on it.” Fox looked over at R.O.B. “How close are we?”

            “WE ARE CLOSING IN ON THE LOCATION. ETA TWO MINUTES.” R.O.B. answered. The intercom came on, Fox recognized Slippy's voice.

            “Fox! I've got the Arwings up and ready to go. You coming or what?” Slippy sounded anxious and high pitched as usual.

            “I'm on my way.” He looked back at the hologram of General Hare. “See you after this is over, general.”

            “Good luck to you and your team Fox! I know I've told you this before, but I'm really proud of the great leader you've become. Your father would feel the same.”

            “Thanks Peppy. I'll contact you when the job's done.” With that Fox terminated the transmission and headed towards the hanger. He paused at the top of the stairs and looked back at R.O.B. “R.O.B, did you and Slippy ever finish the laser cannon I asked for?”

            “MY READOUT SHOWS THE MULTI-SHOT LASER CANNON LOCATED ON THE BOTTOM OF THE FRONT END OF THE GREAT FOX II IS AT ONE-HUNDERED PERCENT OPERATIONAL CAPACITY.”

            “And the ships missiles are locked and loaded?”

            “ALL SIX ARE ON STANDBYE.”

            Fox had forgotten that he also had Slippy and R.O.B. install three extra missile ports on the vessel. “Good. Once we're out and on our way to the location, get within firing distance of the battlefield. If this gets messy, we'll need you as back up.” With that he turned back around and made his way down the stairs.

            It took him less than thirty seconds to reach the hanger, where he found his whole team ready and waiting. Falco was the first to make a comment. “What took ya so long? You and Peppy havin a little love chat up there? We was about to leave without ya.”

            Fox smiled at the criticism as he climbed up into his Arwing. _Looks like even Falco’s letting it go._ “Aw, you'd miss me too much. Besides, who's gonna cover your feathered tail if you leave me behind?” He playfully jabbed back. Fox could tell he hit home by Falco's reaction.

            “Excuse me?? I've saved your furry pelt twice as much! Mr. insecure!”

            _Maybe not._

            Amanda's voice came over all the team's headsets. “Boys, you're both pretty. Let's not forget we still need to work _together_?”

            Slippy was the next to speak. “You tell em, my beautiful water lily!”

            “You always knew how to back me up honey.” Amanda responded in that beautiful southern accent of hers. Slippy preached endlessly about it being the reason he had first fallen in love with her!

            “Every time I hear her speak my knees wobble and I just feel like flopping on the ground!” He would always say with a dreamy smile on his face. Their relationship had been amusing to Fox at first, but it wasn't long until he had to start ordering them to take their _lovey dovey_ comments for each other to their room due to the fact that he couldn't stand it anymore. He knew that they were in that 'newly wed' stage and were only enjoying each other’s company and affections, but even Falco admitted that the stuff was giving him a headache.

            “Shoot me if I _ever_ become _that_ infatuated with a female.” Falco always said.

_You and me both_ , Fox always thought in return. Yet he knew that even though Slippy and Amanda's love for each other was ridiculous, it was strong and true; Fox envied that. It always led him to think about Krystal. _Why couldn't I have had that same dedication? Why did I have to let fear ruin my chances of a relationship with her? Slippy's the kind of guy who would jump at his own shadow, yet he got over the fear of his love, let alone his WIFE, fighting by his side. Why couldn't I?!_

“Just spare us the _pleasantry_ of you two's love fest and let's get this show on the road.” Falco said as he conducted his final checks from his cockpit and started his fighter. He then lifted his aircraft off the floor, rotated towards the large opening in the hanger and flew through the blue force field that separated the air inside the Great Fox II from the atmosphere of space. Fox sealed his cockpit window and waited for the rest to fly off before following suit. He watched as Lucy lifted off the ground in her fighter and set off to join Falco out in the stars, her face radiating with excitement. Fox recalled his promise to Peppy to keep her safe, and Peppy's expressing his pride in Fox. Fox had forced a confident smile for both replies he gave to Peppy, but inside no such confidence existed. He knew he would give it his all to make sure that his whole team made it back in one piece, but he dreaded the day that wouldn't be enough. He envisioned Lucy in danger, three enemy fighters were in pursuit of her. Fox pushed his fighter to its limits trying to get to her but not making it in time. She was shot down and her aircraft obliterated.

Fox cringed himself out of the hallucination. Out of all his teammates, Fox felt most responsible for Lucy. Peppy trusted his daughter's judgment to serve on the Star Fox team, as well as Fox to safeguard and watch over her. If she perished under Fox's command, her blood would be on his hands. He would never be able to face her father again, let alone his own team; if _they_ even survived! _How long until it happens? How long until I fail, and lose everything that I love in this life? How long..._

_“_ Coming Fox?” Fox was once again woken from his thoughts by Slippy's Voice. He looked up to see that everyone else had flown out of the hanger. He quickly grabbed the controls of his Arwing and flew out to join them. He exited the Great Fox II and was surrounded by stars that lit up the dark vastness of space. He always took a moment to admire it. It was beautiful, a view he would never tire of. Fox scanned the area for his crew, spotting them a few miles up ahead, and the combat going on few miles ahead of them. Peppy was right, the attack force was not a small group of renegades on a suicide mission to kill a few Cornerians in revenge for what had been done to their planet. This was meant to overwhelm and exterminate the convoy. The whole scene looked far worse than an explosive light show that many planets put on for mere entertainment. Lasers flew in every direction, ships blew up left and right, and pieces of what had originally been some sort of spacecraft floated all over the battlefield. “No wonder Peppy had been so urgent.” Fox muttered to himself, feeling guilty for being so argumentative with him back on the bridge.

            He recognized Falco's voice coming through the headset. “You gonna join us up here cap?”

            Fox realized he was still a good distance behind his team, and quickly put his thrusters to full capacity to catch up. _Wake up Fox!_ He thought sternly. _If you keep zoning out like this, you_ are _going to wind up getting yourself and your team killed!_ He pushed all his worries out of his mind. He still looked upon the future with angst, but his team needed him. He would be sure to put everything he had into staying focused and completing the mission. _For Lylat, for its citizens, for my family_.

            Fox finally caught up with his team and took the lead. By now they had about twenty seconds until they would enter the chaos.

            “What’s the plan Fox?” Lucy asked, her voice matched her facial expression that Fox had observed back in the hanger.

            “We need to fight our way to the convoy's main battle cruiser, form a perimeter, and push outwards. That will give us some space to rally what's left of the Cornerian fighters, as well as the Star Wolf team.” _If they'd be willing to cooperate._ Fox added to himself. When he heard his whole team simultaneously express their astonishment towards his mentioning of Star Wolf, he remembered that they weren't on the bridge when Peppy had passed that on.

            “When were you planning to inform us of this little piece of information?!” Falco said, his voice portrayed a mix of shock and anger.

            “No time, the battle's upon us!”

            The whole team immediately fell silent and switched their focus to being combat ready as they sped right into the carnage. It was like stepping out of a dark and quiet room and straight into one bursting with light and chaos! The whole scene blinded them for a moment. Things seemed bad enough from a distance, now they just stepped in the doorway.

            “Take evasive action!” Fox yelled into his headset as the whole team began dodging obstacles and firing at enemy fighters. Peppy's Intel was correct. The attack consisted of both Aparoids and Anglers. The Aparoids were large, intelligent, organic mechanical beings that were designed after insects. The ones Fox mainly observed here were in the form of a moth. They were equipped with dual laser beams and missiles with lock on capabilities. The Anglers were humanoid fishes similar to the Angler fish species. They flew around in crayfish-shaped fighters that had varying capabilities, but mainly consisted of some sort of laser beam and missiles. _Cliché'_ , Fox thought. His own fighter was the Arwing II. It looked like an average star fighter with its sleek triangular design, dual vertical stabilizers, and white and blue paint job. The Arwing II was equipped with a single laser beam that had single lock capabilities. The fighter also carried two smart bombs with lock on capabilities. Fox considered smart bombs to be Slippy's greatest creation. They had a blast radius large enough to take out an entire squadron of star fighters or make a good size hole in an asteroid belt. They could also detonate on impact or be set to a time frame.

            Falco zoomed overhead chasing down a couple of Aparoids. He flew the Sky Claw. Its design was very similar to the Arwing II, minus that the wings were crafted to look like those of a large bird. The Sky Claw was equipped with a single laser beam that had multi-lock capabilities, making it easier for him to take down a group of fighters. His Arwing was also the fastest of the whole team's. Falco often bragged about the upgrades he had added to his ship by hole-in-the-wall mechanics he came across on different planets; all of them friends from his past life that owed him favors for dirty work he had done for them during his days as leader of his own gang. Slippy always fumed at why Falco had never just let him do the upgrades, being that he was fully capable. Falco always brushed him off with, “I've got my reasons, you've got bigger fish to fry anyway Slip'.”

            “Like what?!” Slippy asked.

            “Like keepin the rest of the team up and runnin. You also gotta make sure this bucket of bolts stays in the air and doesn't fail us.”

            “Her name is the Great Fox II, and she's not a bucket of bolts! I got her at a good price, and with a little fixing up, she'll be just as good as the first Great Fox!”

            “Alright, alright. Sheesh, calm down! Didn't mean to rile you up. Why do you care so much about upgrading my ship anyway?”

            This always silenced Slippy. He never liked to admit it, but he hated the thought of other people out there that could do just as good, if not better at mechanics than he could. It always brought out a competitive side of him.

            Naturally Slippy upgraded his own fighter, the Bullfrog. The body of his Arwing was much wider than the others, and it was equipped with a plasma cannon instead of a laser. The Bullfrog had no lock on capabilities, but it had the strongest shields and carried three smart bombs. Slippy would always get back at Falco with the fact that the Sky Claw had weaker shields and only one smart bomb.

            “Shields are only to protect those who get shot, which this bird never does.” Falco would boast with a haughty look on his face.

            Fox chuckled every time. “Oh ya? Like the time I shot you down myself when you decided to go AWOL on the Star Fox team?”

            Falco's face of pride would immediately turn to that of humiliation and anger. “I let you win that! I....I didn't want to hurt ya!”

            “Uh huh.” Fox would always reply with a smirk.

            Fox swiftly rolled his fighter out of the way as an oncoming Angler fired its lasers at him.

            “Nice barrel role Fox!” He heard Lucy say over the comm link.

            _Peppy would be proud._ Fox thought with a half-smile on his face. Lucy was on his left, looking to head off the Aparoid Falco was chasing; he had already taken down the other.

            Lucy's Sky Bunny looked nothing like an Arwing. She had picked it up herself when she first started flying. It had a circular body with fair sized wings and two vertical stabilizers. It was originally built as a civilian cruiser, but Slippy added a plasma cannon and a smart bomb that would at least get her by in basic combat, with plans to upgrade it further in the future. He had even given it a pink and white paint job at her request.

            Lucy's Tadpole had been the same way. The name also fit the fighter, being that its body was shaped and painted like a green Tadpole. The special thing about hers was due to its design, it was able to operate under water; something Fox knew would be very useful in their future. They had already taken advantage of the ability on several occasions, doing side jobs in order to keep a sustainable income to cover food, fuel, repairs, and living expenses if they ever took up temporary refuge on a planet.

            Fox slowed his Arwing's speed to help a Cornerian fighter that was being chased down by an Aparoid and...... _Is that a Venomian fighter?!_ Fox intently looked the fighter over. _It is!_ It was when he observed a humanoid lizard in the cockpit that he knew something was up. He hadn't seen any Venomians since the beginning of the Aparoid invasion, and even then he thought the last of them had been destroyed in a rebellion led by a nephew of Andross, Andrew Oikonny. _What in the universe would bring three completely separate armies of selfish motive to work together like this? Is this really just to get back at the Cornerians by taking down one simple convoy? Once the Cornerian cavalry gets here, their entire group will be wiped out! Their intentions couldn't be more than destroying this small Cornerian force. Unless... is there more? Is there a large unknown army about to come out of the blanket of fog that now en-wraps Venom? If so, who's leading them? Andross and Oikonny are dead, and Dash...._ Pain flooded Fox's heart. Dash Bowman had been a young pilot in the Cornerian army and Andross' grandson, though he never took after his grandfather's actions. He was a humanoid monkey of short height, brown fur, and a white head of hair. He got teased for being 'the cutest thing' by all the other pilots. Fox couldn't even help snickering at the comments. Dash was quite the adorable little ape, but few could match his piloting skills. He had assisted the Star Fox team during the Angler Blitz, but met his end two years ago with the annihilation of all life on Venom.

            After the Angler Blitz, Venom had already been cleansed of most of its dangers, such as the Anglers and the Venomians. Dash was convinced that if he could create a device that would cleanse Venom of its toxic atmosphere and waters, he could turn a place that had caused torment and death in Lylat for years, as well as housed his previous kin, into a peaceful home for Lylat's citizens. Fox was strongly against the idea, along with his team and several others; including ones that had diplomatic power in the system. Fox tried to convince Dash that no good was ever to come of Venom, and it was a planet that was best left alone. Fox told him of his belief, that the planet had played a part in the corruption Dash's Grandfather, and turned him into the monster that caused Lylat so much pain. How Andross had even been the cause of death for both Fox's parents. Dash wouldn't hear of it, he didn't believe that a _planet_ could affect someone’s mind. He blamed Andross' actions completely on Andross himself. That his grandpa simply had an evil heart, and lived to cause chaos in the galaxy. Fox didn't hate Dash for his decision, but he warned him that he would have no part in it, and he was confident that his team wouldn't either (Which they didn't). Dash respected their decision, and set out to rally his own support for his campaign to turn Venom into a hospitable planet.

            Within a few months, he had gained all the support and funds he needed to begin his restoration project. Fox was speechless from the amount of people who went along with this idea. _It's that easy to forget all the pain Venom has caused us?_ He felt it was a slap in the face to him and his team, and his parents.... A tear ran down the side of his cheek. His father had died on that planet, at the hands of the very monster it created. The monster had also taken the life of his mother, as well as millions of other lives in the galaxy, and now millions were in agreement that Venom should become a place of happiness and harmony. Fox felt crushed, and even more so, angry. _After all I've done for this galaxy, for each and every one of them! The sacrifices I've made... sacrifices my team made. How dare they find joy in the very thing I've hated my entire life!_ Eventually he even developed a hatred for Dash.

It was on an evening when he was sitting alone on the bridge of the Great Fox II, watching a news feed on the holographic table. He had picked up the feed from a nearby satellite. It showed enormous crowds of people in support of Venom's cleansing, and Dash stood at the head of them all. The very sight of him ignited an anger inside Fox that he hadn't felt for a long time, he had stood up and slammed his fists into the table so hard it damaged it and terminated the feed. “You're the cause of this!” He had exclaimed. “How could you find such happiness in what only brings me pain?! You know what that planet means to me! YOU KNOW THE SUFFERING IT'S CAUSED ME!” He had stood there for a moment in silence, furiously breathing, then broke down and dropped to his knees in tears.

            Then came the day that Dash had finally done it. Through large engineering and construction teams, he had built large filters all over Venom and cleansed its atmosphere and waters. He even industrialized large portions of the planet's surface so that people could start moving in immediately. The entire process had taken two years, but his dream had finally came true. Fox once again had stood by the holographic table watching the news feed, only this time the whole team was with him.

            “Well, that's that.” Falco had said as he shut off the feed. Fox just stood there in silence, his face showed sign of defeat. There was a time where he had spoken out against Dash, but he never gained enough support to stop the process. General Hare had even joined Fox in his efforts, taking the matter to his superiors inside the Cornerian government and tried to show military support in putting a halt to Dash's plans, but they wouldn't listen. They felt that this could be a benefit to the Cornerian army and would allow them to expand, recruit more soldiers and pilots, and increase their strength. Everyone believed that Venom wasn't the threat, it was the people who originally inhabited it. That Venom shouldn't remain a symbol of pain, but of rebirth. Fox just couldn't accept that.

            Lucy walked over and gently placed her hand on his shoulder, “Fox, are you going to be okay?” Her delicate and nurturing voice contained concern.

            Fox didn't respond. He simply turned and walked away, retreating to his room. He knew the planet was pure evil, and if he had his will he would have it destroyed. There was an evening where he had intended to do just that.

            Fox had gotten so low one night that he flew out in his Arwing, unbeknownst to the team, and went to a nearby planet to drink his pain away. Though with every shot he consumed, the pain and anger just increased. He finally decided that if nobody was going to see the light and stop this madness, he would do it himself. He got up, left the bar, and flew back to the Great Fox II. By then everyone on the ship was asleep, even R.O.B. had gone into his sleep mode, so Fox had nothing stopping him from programing the vessel to head towards Venom. It was a two hour trip, and he sat in bridge ready and waiting the entire time. Finally, the Great Fox II arrived at its destination. Fox got up and headed straight for his fighter, only to find Falco waiting for him.

            “Care to tell me why we're taking a mysterious trip to venom at two forty-three in the morning?” Falco said as he leaned against the arwing's ladder, his wings crossed over his chest.

            Fox was angry, drunk, and determined. He had no tolerance for Falco that night. “I'm not explaining myself to you Falco, step away from my arwing and this won't have to get ugly.”

            Falco raised his feathered eyebrows in aggressive amusement. “You should know by now that I have no problem with that.” He said as he took his weight off the ladder. “But... I'm not going to stop you.” Falco stepped away from the Arwing. “Go ahead. Fly off to Venom and do what you need to do. Just realize when you sober up, you're going to see how big of a mistake you've made tonight, and you're gonna wish I had stopped you.”

            Even through all his anger, Fox felt a little taken back. He had expected a brawl, for the whole team to come running out and find the two of them beating each other to bloody pulps. He slowly walked by Falco and climbed up into his fighter.

            “I know how it feels Fox.” Falco shouted after him as he turned on his Arwing. “To have everyone turn against you and make you feel like the lowest thing in the universe. But I'm telling you, this isn't the solution.” With that he turned and walked back towards his room. Fox sat in the cockpit for a moment before taking off. He felt his anger rising inside of him again, only this time he was angry at himself. In his hatred he had become the very monster he had wanted dead his whole life, and even intended to cause the same destruction as the monster had. _What would my parents think? My father...._ He looked down at his fighter’s ignition, and turned it off. He then slumped down in his cockpit seat and cried himself to sleep.

            Venom continued to flourish for the next year, but disorder slowly began to arise. Crime started going up, murders became more frequent, it eventually got to the point where shootouts would happen in the middle of any street, anytime, anywhere. When no police or military force stepped up to control the chaos, the Cornerian government looked into the matter. It wasn't hard to get in contact with Dash, and they weren't met with pleasing news. Dash had informed them that Venom had become the leading power in the galaxy. Its population second to only Corneria itself, and its military was even greater than Corneria's. He thanked the Cornerian army for supplying most of Venom's strength and firepower. Unless demands were met to further increase the planet's military and resources, and officially place it above that of Corneria, Dash would unleash all hell on Lylat unlike anything ever seen before. The leaders representing Corneria's government laughed his threat off. They informed him all they had to do was tell his forces to cease following his orders, and his so called 'place in power' would completely diminish. Dash responded with a smile that chilled his audience to the bone. This ape was no longer cute, he had become the very symbol of evil that Andross had been all those years ago.

            “Go ahead.” Dash said, with a shocking calmness and confidence in his voice. “Give 'your' men the order. Tell them to stop following any and all commands I've given. I won't stop you.”

            The government leaders immediately contacted the Cornerian forces on planet Venom and told them to cease following Dash's orders; they were met with a terrifying response. Venom's army was now loyal to only Dash Bowman, and it was the Cornerian government that they would cease taking orders from. The soldier they spoke to had the same look in his eye that Dash had when they spoke to him. It was then that they realized the gravity of their situation; Venom's Cornerian military force was corrupt. All these years they had allowed a horror story to brew under their very noses, and now the entire universe was about to pay for it. They informed Dash of _their_ warning if he was to actually make good on his threat.

            Back when the restoration of Venom had first begun, they might not have allowed the warnings given by their highly trusted Star Fox team to stop the process all together, but they had taken it into consideration. Immediately after the protests given by Fox McCloud, they began creating a threat response in case the absolute worst _was_ ever to go down on planet Venom. The response was made up of a nuclear arsenal powerful enough to wipe everything clean off the surface of the planet. If Dash didn't step down immediately, they would unleash the missiles on the planet, putting a complete stop to the threat instantaneously. Many were against such action and tried to find other solutions, but none would suffice. Venom's new army was larger than any other in Lylat's history. Dash had been running underground training sessions completely unnoticed by the Cornerian government, even recruiting any rouge Aparoids, Anglers, and Venomians he could rally. He had quickly built an unstoppable force that even the Star Fox team saw no way of handling, and each and every member in Venom's military showed complete loyalty to Dash. Fox thought it was finally over. Venom had risen high enough to finally take over Lylat, and there was nothing he could do about it. He just sat in the ship's bridge with the rest of his team, watching the news feeds and waiting for the end.

            Instead of heeding Corneria's warning, Dash turned it on them. He gave them ten minutes to call off their threat response or he would unleash his army on the galaxy. The Cornerian government knew then that they had no choice. All of Venom had gone insane, they could find no one on the planet that would stand against this. Venom's army stood ready to destroy anything that stood in their way, and all the civilians on the planet had taken to crime, murder, and war amongst themselves. To save the galaxy, the billions of lives on Venom would have to be obliterated. Within eight minutes of Dash's second threat, Corneria fired its nuclear arsenal. The Star Fox team watched in silence as one by one the missiles hit the planet from all directions and fire engulfed its surface. Venom burned for a month before it released a mist that put out the fires and covered its surface, then all was quite.

            “Well... that's that.” Falco stated as he walked away from the final news report that would be given on Venom's state.

            Fox remained standing by the holographic table for a few seconds longer. “Yeah,” he whispered, feeling satisfaction knowing that Venom was finally finished, and a sadness knowing that billions of people had died in the process. One of them being an adorable little monkey that had originally helped them save the galaxy, but turned into a monster that almost destroyed it. “That's that.”

            “Fox!” Falco's voice brought Fox back to reality. “Watch your tail, you've got three Anglers behind you and they've got a lock!”

            Fox reacted on instinct and pushed down on his controls, ducking just in time to avoid a group of plasma blasts that whizzed overhead. He then began to survey his surroundings and get a grip on what was happening. _Damn it Fox!_ He scolded himself, _Stop letting yourself get distracted. You're already failing your team!_ Slippy's voice came over Fox's headset.

            “I can see the Cornerian battle cruiser, we made it!”

            Fox quickly took command, forgetting all about the Venomian fighter that had sent him diving into his thoughts. “Alright guys, start forming that perimeter and getting us some leg room! R.O.B., you read me?”

            “YOUR VOICE IS COMING IN CLEAR. HOW MAY I BE OF ASSISTANCE?”

            “I need you to use the Great Fox II's firepower to make sure that the path we've cleared behind us doesn't close back up, in case we need an escape route. Slippy, Lucy, help R.O.B. out by doing the same thing with your own fighters. Amanda, Falco, and I will clear that perimeter.”

            Right after he finished giving his order, a new voice came over the comm link. “Quite the leader there, aren't you Fox? Gotta say I'm impressed, you really know how to take control of a situation after nearly being blown up.” Fox recognized it instantly. He knew that menacing growl anywhere.

            “Wolf.”


	2. Chapter 2

            “Face it Fox, we’ve been hoaxed; again.” Falco grumbled, wanting nothing more than to turn his arwing around and return to the Great Fox II.

            Fox McCloud’s frustration was growing by the second. “We have your transmission on our ship’s log. It clearly identifies Sergeant Tucker as the creator and obvious sender of the message!”

            A middle aged golden retriever humanoid dressed in a blue space combat uniform stepped back in bewilderment, his eyes searching for an explanation within himself.

            A young pug humanoid dressed in similar attire of a green coloration spoke in defense of the retriever. “I too am very disturbed by this recording. I’ll give a copy to the intelligence field and have them start analyzing it right away, but Sergeant Tucker had nothing to do with this. We too have footage that shows him leading a physical training session at the same time as _your_ footage’s data claims it was recorded. I can also assure you right now is that there is no threat on Fitchina, her city, or military outpost. Especially one as serious as your transmission described.”

            Fox’s frustration erupted into fury. “I dragged my team all the way out here to respond to the distress call, I will not turn around without answers!”

            The pug leaned in toward the camera that allowed him to view Fox, staring him dead in the eye and speaking in a commanding tone. “Make a demand like that again, mercenary, and I will have my airmen physically escort you, and your team, off of this planet. You have your answer, there is nothing terrorizing Fitchina. Andross is dead. So is his grandson, and the planet which they both had resided on. Accept it.” With that, the pug disappeared from the screen built into Fox’s arwing. Communications had been terminated.

 

………………………………………….

 

            Fox slid his bedroom door shut behind him. He had kept himself together the whole way back to the Great Fox II, the team’s mother ship, but now he was alone. Fox grabbed a pillow off of his bed and slammed it onto the floor, kneeled, and threw fist after fist into it; driving each one to the point where his knuckles could clearly feel the metal surface on the other side. He also began to repetitively thrust one of his knees into the pillows edge. Once he had burned himself out, Fox buried his snout into the flattened plush and screamed as hard as he could. He wished he could stop time, tear apart everything around him and be as loud as he wanted, the reverse it and make it so it never happened. For now, however, beating and yelling into his pillow would have to do. His fits of rage felt childish enough, he didn’t need the whole team knowing about them.

Once his lungs had expelled all the oxygen they could, Fox sat up and panted deeply and tensely. Falco’s words rang in his head. ‘You’re losing it Fox! You’ve dragged us to every corner of the galaxy, responding to every little sign of danger that’s linked to what happened two years ago. Two years ago! I’m done! The whole teams done! Next time you want to check out a distress call, you’re on your own!’

            The rest of the team had tried to stand up for Fox and support him, but he knew that deep down, they felt the same way. _They want to quit just as much as he does…_ Fox removed his white and grey soft shell jacket that he always wore over his green flight suit, tossed it to the side, and threw himself onto his bed. The thought of losing his team terrified him. Since the death of his parents at the hands of Andross, Fox's team had taken the place of his family. He learned to rely on them when he needed strength and guidance. They helped him realize he was never alone. Without his team, Fox knew his failure would've come a long time ago. Time and time again they fought side by side and achieved victory over their adversaries, and once more with the recent defeat of the Angler army. Now here he was, abusing their loyalty by wearing them down from his own paranoia; paranoia that was created from an everlasting question that burned in his head after every victory. _How long?_

How long until the Lylat system would once again be attacked by an old or foreign enemy that would end its existence? _How long?_ How long until an enemy appeared that Fox and his team could not handle? An enemy that would destroy the galaxy's protectors and finally gain the title of Lylat's conquerors. Fox was thankful for his victories, thankful that every time danger arose the Star Fox team was able to rise to the challenge and give the galaxy its times of peace, but he couldn't shake the thought that it wouldn't stay that way. He knew his luck was running out. All he could do was keep trying, save Lylat whenever possible, and wait for the fateful day when he would fail. Fail the galaxy, fail the citizens that inhabited it, and worst of all, fail his team.

He rolled onto his side, trying to push the fear to the back of his mind, put to no prevail. _I owe so much to them…_ In the early years, Star Fox had consisted of Peppy Hare, Slippy Toad, R.O.B., Falco Lombardi, and Fox himself. Peppy, a gray-brown humanoid rabbit with a white muzzle, was a skilled pilot and Fox's mentor. He was always there to give Fox advice whenever it was needed. Peppy soon became like a father to him, someone he could learn things from and trust to keep himself on the right track. Slippy, a short, fat, and green humanoid frog with a white lower jaw, was an inventor and mechanic. Fox could always rely on him to create something to use against their enemies in order to gain the upper hand, as well as repair any damages the Great Fox II might have sustained and keep up with any maintenance needed. R.O.B., a humanoid robot, was the Great Fox II's pilot and the team's mechanical buddy. He could control the ship, manage any computerized information on board, and utilize the vessel's defenses and fire power.

            Then you had Falco, a lowlife gang leader that the Star Fox team decided to take in due to his incredible piloting skills. He was a tall, blue, humanoid falcon with red-orange feathers around his eyes. Falco never revealed why he agreed to step down as the leader of his gang and join Star Fox. When asked, “Eh, the money's better.” was always his response. Fox never bought it, he could sense something else had been the cause. Eventually the real reason was discovered during a run in with Falco's old gang not long after the Lylat wars. Turned out he had been tired of constantly rescuing one of his team members. _The lazy bird,_ Fox had thought to himself. It didn't matter though, Falco turned out to be a very skilled wing man; he knew just about every trick in the book. He even outdid Fox on a few occasions, which led to a friendly rivalry between the two pilots.

            Fox himself was an orange-brown humanoid fox with a pointed white highlight running between his ears and down towards his snout, white fur overlaying his muzzle, and a white tipped tail.

            These were the members that made up the Star Fox team as well as the known heroes they had become. Throughout the years they had gained and lost additional team members, the most memorable being the lovely Krystal. Sorrow now joined Fox’s pain at the thought of her. He first met her on planet Sauria, also known as Dinosaur Planet, during the Saurian crises. In an attempt to save Sauria, she fell into a trap created by Andross. When the Star Fox team arrived to also assist the planet, Fox sensed her telepathic cries for help and rescued her. He would never forget the first moment he laid eyes on her, she was the most beautiful humanoid fox he had ever seen! Her soft, groomed, royal blue fur encompassed her gracefully thin, curved body. Snow-white fur covered her face, chest, and abdomen. All this along with her vibrant Sapphire blue eyes made her a breathtaking sight. She had decided to join up with Star Fox after her rescue from Sauria and had stayed with them for years. She was very useful to the team; her telepathic abilities allowed her to get a better picture of what dangers they would be up against before they went head on with them, she could figure out weaknesses in any enemy they faced, and she could sense nearby distress calls that were unable to reach the team by radio, as well as send out her own.

            Along with her continuous assistance, Fox eventually found himself in love with her. She was beautiful, she was adventurous, she was kind and gentle; she was everything he could ever dream of. _But you let her slip through your fingers, didn't you Fox?!_ He had wanted to tell her how he felt, but was always too timid to say anything. It was easy enough to fight alongside her during a mission, but as soon as the topic of the two of them being in a relationship came up, fear and humiliation would take over and he'd deny his feelings every time. He thought of when she and he had returned to Sauria to take out a group of Aparoids that had invaded the planet during the Aparoid invasion. Once the battle was over, he had run into his old friend Tricky, a young triceratops that lived on the planet. After some small talk and catching up, Tricky proceeded to tease Fox about how Krystal and he should return to Sauria for their honeymoon. Fox immediately turned red from embarrassment and proceeded to silence Tricky, telling him this conversation wasn't for children. _Why?!_ Fox scolded himself. _Why did you react like that?! Why can't you tell her three simple words?! You've selflessly put your life on the line countless times, yet you're too much of a coward to say THREE SIMPLE WORDS!”_ It wasn't only cowardice that made Fox curse himself. After a battle during the Aparoid Invasion where Krystal almost lost her life to an enemy, Fox made a decision that he would regret for the rest of his life. He kicked her off the team.

            He had only meant to protect her, he didn't want to see her die from the dangers of their line of work. He recalled the night he removed her, and all the pain that came with it. They were all at a bar on planet Corneria, the center of culture and government of the Lylat system, having a few a drinks and a relaxing evening. Out of all the challenges Fox had faced during his career as a pilot, asking Krystal to step outside so he could deliver the news to her was the hardest thing he had ever done. He cringed as he remembered her reaction, how she had fallen to the ground in tears. He saw the fear in her eyes, the fear of loss. Her planet, and all of her people that inhabited it, had been destroyed decades ago. The Star Fox team was all that she had, and he had taken it away from her. Then as he had turned to walk away, he heard her scream three words. Three words that he was too much of a coward to say himself, and three words that almost sent him to his knees. “I LOVE YOU!”

            Fox had stopped dead in his tracks. He had wanted to turn around and tell her she could stay, tell her that he was sorry and that he loved her as well, but the thought of seeing the day that she got struck down by one of their enemies was too much for him to bare. He couldn't let her stay, he wouldn't. He would rather have her out of harm’s way than by fighting his side. However during the Angler Blitz, he learned that his attempt to keep her safe had all been for nothing.

            A few days after she had been left behind on Corneria, another group of pilots made her an offer to join their team, Star Wolf. Star Wolf was a dangerous group of mercenaries that were willing to take on any job, legitimate or criminal, as long as the pay was worth it. They were made up of three pilots: Wolf O'Donnell, a gray humanoid wolf with a similar fur pattern to Fox. Leon Powalski, a green humanoid chameleon, and Panther Caroso, a humanoid panther with dark purple fur and piercing yellow eyes. Wolf was the leader of the team and Fox's main adversary next to Andross, Leon was Wolf's wing man and just about as talented as Falco, and Panther was the team's newest addition who joined sometime before the Aparoid invasion for reasons unknown to Star Fox.

            Krystal accepted their offer and became a member of Star Wolf. Better yet, Panther had developed feelings for her just as fast as Fox had, although he wasn't afraid to admit them to her. So Krystal and Panther had developed a relationship that stung Fox as if a poison were flowing through his veins. Blood burning and heart throbbing, the urge to fall to his knees and release a loud cry of regret would nearly overtake him _every_ time he thought of the newly formed bond. _If only you had kept her with you, if only YOU had told her the truth!_ In the end, all Fox had was his team and the ever burning question, _how long?_

A knock on the door woke Fox from his thoughts. “Come in.” In stepped Lucy Hare, Peppy Hare's daughter who took his place on the Star Fox team after he had been promoted to General of Cornerian army. She was a slender humanoid rabbit with pink fur and eyes, along with a tall set of ears and a bright white set of buck teeth.

            “We've received a transmission from my father, he needs to speak with you.”

            _Been awhile since we've heard from you Peppy,_ Fox thought to himself. “I'll be right up.”

            “Please hurry, he sounded urgent.” She paused for a moment. “Fox?”

Fox forced himself to look over his shoulder at her.

“Please don’t let what Falco said stand for the rest of us. We care about you, we just don’t want to see you lose yourself to the past.”

Fox remained silent. He couldn’t bring himself to believe her. With all he had put them through, they had every right to want to leave him. He went back to staring at the wall his bed sided with. “I’ll be right up, alright?” He waited for her to leave, but instead was surprised with feeling her lips press against his cheek as she gave him a quick kiss. He cringed and grew hot with embarrassment.

Lucy spoke in a soft, soothing voice. “We’re never going to abandon you, I promise.” With that, she turned and left the room. Fox lay still for a moment longer. _How can they be so forgiving? How can they just work past all the time and energy I made them spend on false alarms?_ He had asked himself this many times, and each inquest provided no further answer than the rest. _Well… better not keep Peppy waiting._ Fox got to his feet and picked up his jacket, putting it back on as he walked. He stepped out into the hallway and made his way towards the stairs leading to the bridge of the Great Fox II.

The Great Fox II wasn't as nice as the first Great Fox, a battleship that was the team's original vessel lost during the Aparoid invasion, nor as roomy due to three quarters of the hull composing of two large hangers that had plenty of room for storing their aircraft and other cargo, but didn't work very well for living space. Fox had Slippy and R.O.B. turn a row of 6 extra cargo compartments in the back of the ship into bedrooms. Small and dim as they were, they were at least a suitable place to sleep.

            Fox reached the top of the stairs and looked around the bridge. Control panels were lined up along the bottom of a large, three panel wide window that looked out over the front of the ship and into the vastness of space. A cylindrical holographic table sat in the center of the room. Gathered around the table was Falco, Slippy, R.O.B., Lucy, and Amanda Toad. Amanda joined the Star Fox team around the same time Lucy Hare had joined up, and had recently married Slippy Toad. Slippy had met her before the Angler Blitz, and she joined the team to stay right by his side. She was a pink humanoid frog that had the same figure as Lucy. Her eyes were royal blue and she wore a bright yellow ribbon on the top of her head.

            On the table was a hologram of Peppy Hare, now known as General Hare, with a look of distress and annoyance on his face. “There you are Fox! You'd better watch yourself boy, soon enough you'll be moving slower than me!” Peppy said with a playful irritation in his voice.

            Fox smiled, something about seeing Peppy again helped alleviate his stress. “Been awhile old man, life as a general still treating you fair?”

            “No time for chit-chat Fox, I have a matter that demands attention and could really use your help!”

            “Well here at Star Fox we certainly love it when matters demand our attention.” Fox replied with an amused smile. “What’s the situation?”

            “The Cornerian forces sent out their usual weekly convoy to go circle around planet Venom to make sure no suspicious activity was taking place. Things had been quiet ever since we wiped its surface clean of all life forms, but today the planet once again had a surprise in store for us. Five minutes ago the convoy was attacked as it came around to the far side of the planet from its sun, Solar. The attack force was large and quickly overwhelmed them. We've dispatched reinforcements but I'm afraid that they won't make it in time. The convoy needs back up now!”

            Falco interrupted, “Let me guess.” He began to glare at Fox as he continued speaking the general. “Your scanners show that we're close by and you want us to assist until further reinforcements show up?”

            “Precisely!” Peppy Exclaimed. “You're less than five minutes from the planet, our forces won't arrive for another ten to fifteen. I've already sent you the convoy's exact location. Please Fox, their lives are in jeopardy!”

            “Already on our way general.” Fox switched his attention to his team. “R.O.B., get this ship headed towards the convoy's coordinates and prepare its defenses and firepower. Slippy, get down to the hangers and start getting all our fighters warmed up and combat ready. Everyone else, prepare yourselves for battle.”

            “I knew I could count on you Fox!”

            “What are we going up against general?”

            “That's the other strange part Fox, the attack force was composed Anglers and Aparoids.”

            _Anglers and Aparoids?!_ Fox took a step back. “That's impossible. We wiped out the Aparoids during the Aparoid invasion, when we destroyed the Aparoid queen and blew up their home world eight years ago, and if there were any Anglers left on planet Venom, they would've been wiped out when the Cornerian army wiped Venom lifeless.”

            “I completely agree with you Fox, but we thought the same after you destroyed Andross for the second time. Look how he came back on planet Sauria. After that I'd say nothing is beyond impossible.”

            _Blast you Peppy, I hate it when you’re right._ Fox stood in thought for a moment. Excluding the Aparoid Invasion, every conflict that Lylat had been through had Venom at its heart. Andross had always been Fox's greatest enemy and had become the blame for all the attacks, but even he took up refuge on Venom after being banished there for crimes against the Cornerian government. Andross was a large humanoid gorilla who originally took up a career as a scientist on Corneria. His intentions started out pure until his discoveries led him towards a lust for power. Eventually his motives became destructive as his research into bio-technology increased. He destroyed a large portion of the Cornerian city in the process. Thousands of lives were lost. As a result General Pepper, the previous general of the Cornerian army, exiled Andross to planet Venom where he was expected to die due to the planet's inability to sustain life, they were wrong.

Venom didn't kill Andross, it did something else. It changed him, something about that planet poisoned his mind and seeped through his veins. It was as if an evil spirit had taken him over, increased his lust for power, twisted his intentions even further, and turned him into the monster that had nearly dominated the galaxy time and time again. There was something more to Venom than met the eye, and it worried Fox every time they went up against it or anything that was associated with it. Which led himself to ask again, would this be it? Were he and his team about to walk into a battle that would end them all? How far off was it now? _How long?_

            “Fox!” Peppy's voice brought Fox back to reality. “We lost you for a moment there, are you alright?”

            “Yeah, fine.” Fox replied. He looked up at his team. “You guys ready for this?”

            “This bird has been ready to get back in the air and into some _real_ action for a long time.” Said Falco, dropping his glare and twirling his laser pistol on his feathered finger as he headed toward the stairs. Amanda and Lucy followed suit.

            Peppy called out to Lucy before she left. “Do be careful my dear, it scares me enough watching you fly out into the danger zone. I couldn't stand losing you to it....”

            Lucy turned and acknowledged her father. “Don't worry papa, this rabbit’s got speed. They won't even see her coming!” She said with an adventurous smile. She then turned and followed the rest of the team down the stairs.

            “I'll watch over her too old man.” Fox said comfortingly. “Anything else before I head to my Arwing?”

            “There is one more little detail...”

            Fox didn't like the hesitance in his voice. “And that would be?”

            “I called in the Star Wolf team to help as well.”

 


	3. Chapter 4

            “It's been quite a while Fox. Five years wasn't it? Seems like a lot has happened since, with the restoration of Venom and all. Those were quite the protests against your little friend's schemes.” Wolf said with a taunting chuckle.

            “Couldn't just stand by and wait for fate to pick the victor.” Fox replied as he frantically tried to spot Wolf and his team.

            “Never play against fate Fox. I'm sure it wasn't your wish for both of us to end up on the same battlefield working together, over the very planet that's haunted you your whole life. Hell, it sure wasn't my decision either. Yet here we are.”

            Fox finally spotted Wolf and one of his crew, Leon, rounding up a group of Aparoids and Anglers, as well as a couple Venomian fighters no different than the one Fox had spotted earlier. _The Cornerian!_

He remembered about the Cornerian pilot that was being chased by a Venomian. Fox's eyes scanned the area around his Arwing and located the Cornerian just up ahead and to the left. The pilot had lost the Aparoid, but was still running from the Venomian. Fox sped up and fired multiple laser blasts right through the center of the hostile fighter then zoomed overhead the leftover scrap. He turned his arwing around and made eye contact with the Cornerian pilot, who gave Fox a thumbs up from his cockpit. Fox then tried to relocate Wolf and Leon's fighters. Wolf flew a 'v' shaped fighter called the Wolfen. It had thin, pointed, tapered-straight wings located towards the rear half of the aircraft. The Wolfen was equipped with a twin laser with multi-lock capabilities and one smart bomb. Leon flew the Rainbow Delta, a variation of the Wolfen. A fighter with swept-back wings and two horizontal stabilizers. It was equipped with a laser cannon that could shoot multiple charged blasts at a slow rate of fire and two smart bombs. All of Star Wolf's fighters had a red and gray coloration.

            With no luck of spotting either fighters, Fox found someone else instead. Another Arwing whipped right over head of his; in that split second, time seemed to slow as he spotted the pilot. _Krystal..._

She hadn't noticed him, her eyes were locked on her target. She was headed straight for the Convoy's main battle ship that had attracted a swarm of the Aparoid moths that landed on the cruiser and began ripping into it with their legs and blasters. Krystal slowed her speed as she began picking the mechanical insects off the Cornerian cruiser with her laser cannon. _Magnificent aim!_ Fox thought to himself. Within seconds she had destroyed every Aparoid without the cruiser taking a single shot. _She's gotten better..._

            Fox heard Wolf's voice again. “Better duck Fox, gotta stampede coming your way.” Fox turned his attention from Krystal back to the matter at hand to see the group of fighters Wolf and Leon had been rounding up heading straight for him! Fox pulled up on his controls and bolted straight up, getting out of the way just in time. He continued flying vertically until he was more than a thousand feet above the group, then he flipped around and dove straight towards them.

            “You're turn to get out of the way, Wolf.” Fox said as he locked onto an Aparoid in the center of the herd. He waited only a moment while Wolf and Leon backed off, then launched a smart bomb and retreated to a safe distance just before it went off, decimating the whole squad.

            “That works, though I was enjoying the sight of them running scared.” Wolf said.

            Leon joined in. “Yeah, it was like shooting fish in a barrel.”

            Fox grinned. “Sometimes, it's best to just drop some dynamite in the water.”

            Falco's voice came over the headset, he sounded irritated. “Hey, are you guy's gonna help us clear this perimeter, or are Amanda and I gonna do this by ourselves?!”

            “You still got that parakeet flying around with you?” Leon snickered.

            “ _What_ did you just call me?!” Falco was even angrier now.

            Fox intervened before things could escalate. “Alright, let's keep a grip on ourselves. I'm coming over Falco. Wolf, Leon, care to help us out with that perimeter?”

            “Help you? Fox, we're gonna show you how it's done.” Wolf said as he and Leon took off towards the convoy. Fox shook his head then did the same.

            They weren’t far off from the convoy's battle cruiser. When they reached it they found that Falco and Lucy had already taken out a large majority of the opposition. Fox also noticed that most of the Cornerian fighters had rallied up and joined the cause. He jumped in and began to chase down the remaining fighters in the area. He spotted Krystal doing the same thing a few hundred feet below him. He desperately wanted to radio to her, say something to strike up a conversation, but what would he say? He had a feeling she had yet to forgive him for what he did to her on Corneria, but he couldn't help himself. He had to do something, he couldn't just fly around pretending she wasn't there. He noticed a Venomian fighter had got on her tail and decided to help her out, see if she would notice him instead. Fox flew towards the Venomian and hammered laser blasts into its vessel until it exploded, then placed himself alongside Krystal's fighter. She flew the Cloud Runner, an arwing that Krystal had Slippy design to look like a pterodactyl, a type of dinosaur species. The Cloud Runner was equipped with a twin laser with single lock-on capabilities and one smart bomb.

            Krystal noticed the explosion behind her and looked over to see Fox flying by her side. Fox put on a light smile, but a look of hatred and disgust formed on her face and she jerked her fighter away from his and started chasing down a couple Anglers. _Well, there's your answer Fox._ He thought, his heart aching with desolation.

            “Alright Fox, perimeter secure. We're ready to push out.” Amanda announced. Her voice was full of adrenaline.

            Fox pushed his pain away for the moment, realizing he still had a mission to complete. “Okay then, let's send em runnin.” He replied as he faced his fighter away from the convoy and towards the ring of chaos that still surrounded all of them. “Slippy, Lucy, is our escape route still clear?”

            “Didn't even have to try!” Lucy said, still filled with excitement. Fox could always tell how much she loved this job. _Why couldn't I see that with Krystal? Why did I have to let fear cloud my view of her? Why..._

“Thanks to the extra weaponry R.O.B. and I installed on the Great Fox II!” Slippy cheerfully exclaimed. With that, they all flew straight into different parts of the ring, shattering the enemy force into several small, more manageable groups. Fox's mind was still on Krystal, though this time he made sure to not lose himself so much to thought that he wasn't paying attention. Krystal’s position on Star Fox wasn't any different than Lucy’s, and yet he had allowed Lucy to remain on the team. It wasn't because he didn't feel responsibility for Lucy. Being that she was Peppy's daughter, Fox had only felt all the more responsible for her. He had just decided it was best to let her make her own choices in what she wanted to do with her life. _Why couldn't I have made that same choice with Krystal? Did my love for her harden me so much that I wouldn't let her choose for herself? Well, you got what you deserve Fox. Because there she is. Flying with Star Wolf in the same amount of, if not more danger than she was in before._ Fox cringed, squeezing his control wheel as if to crush it in his hands _. Not only did you lose her to that, but you also lost her to Panther… Panther!_ It was then that it hit Fox. _Where is Panther?!_ He did a quick glance all around the area but couldn't find him. _He's probably on the other side of the convoy._

Both teams kept pushing through, dodging scrap and bullets, then returning fire and taking down their adversaries. Falco had target lock on an Angler and was about to shoot, when Leon swooped in and shot it down before Falco could pull the trigger.

            “Hey!” Falco exclaimed, “Just what do ya think you were doin’?! That was my kill!”

            “The early bird gets the worm, looks like you're going hungry.” Leon replied with a smirk.

            “You calling me slow?! You're a freakin’ Chameleon!”

            “Aw yes, but we move quietly and unseen, and we have a fast tongue to take down our prey. In my case, a blaster does just as good.” Leon had a taunting calmness in his voice, riling Falco up even more.”

            “Why you little piece of dried out...”

            “Careful with your temper bird. I may have been paid to help out the Star Fox team and not cause them trouble, but I am more than willing to defend myself if necessary. It doesn't take much to convince me that something is...necessary.” Leon's voice had turned sinister, and Fox could tell Falco was about to unleash all hell on the lizard. Fox turned his Arwing around and darted in front of Falco just in time to cut him off from taking a shot at Leon.

            “I've had enough of this!” Fox yelled into his headset. “We're here to save lives, not put them in more turmoil by fighting amongst ourselves. Now pull yourselves together, and let's finish this!” Falco and Leon both fell silent and continued the mission.

            They all continued to fight until they finally had thinned out the attackers enough that they began to retreat. Aparoids, Anglers, and Venomians alike all turned and high tailed it back to the planet they had mysteriously came from; with Star Fox, Star Wolf, and the Cornerians right on their tail. They chased them until they deemed it unsafe to get any closer to the planet, then turned around and headed back to the convoy. Finally all was quiet, and the chaos was over. The Cornerians gathered around the convoy's main battle cruiser and began landing all the damaged fighters in its hangers for repair while the rest took up their spots around the cruiser to provide security on the way back to Corneria.

            Fox contacted the cruiser to make sure everything was alright. A young dog answered the transmission.

            “Yes sir, we're fine. Can't say it would've been the same if you hadn't showed up though.”

            “We're happy to help.” Fox replied with a smile. “You guys have a safe trip back to Corneria, you hear?”

            “Roger that sir. I just have one question before I go.”

            “Go ahead”

            “I thought Venom was done for, that all life on that planet was finished. Sure they would always send us out for security measures, but all the previous times we came up with nothing. Radar, Thermal, Imagery, all quiet. Sir, where in Lylat's name did they come from?”

            “I don't know....” Fox said in a grave tone. “But I'm sure once Corneria's government processes all this, they will take major steps to find out.”

            “I hope this doesn't turn out to be something big. I was quite enjoying our years of peace.”

            “So was I, soldier.” Fox paused, taking a moment to look out into the peaceful collection of stars as he whispered to himself, “So was I…” He reverted back to the dog. “Now get back to Corneria, it shouldn't be long until your intended reinforcements show up to take over.”

            “Actually sir, my scanners are showing they're still ten minutes out. They said that they ran into another group of the same enemies that were waiting for them near one of the planets they had to pass by to get here. The force was much smaller, they said it was more like a distraction. Something to slow them down and keep them from getting to us in time. Makes me even more thankful that you all arrived when you did.”

            Now Fox was convinced there was something more to this than a mere suicidal attack. This was planned out, someone had thought this through. But why? All they would have been able to do was take out one convoy, how could that have helped their cause? All it would do is draw more forces to planet Venom. Forces that would do continual research and exploit any events that were covertly going on under the planet's foggy surface. Fox shuddered as he remembered his thought of a larger army still hiding on the surface, ready to attack at any time. Was this the opening act to something bigger?

            Fox brushed away the thought. “Either way, you guys have taken enough damage. Get back to Corneria, we'll stay here until they show up. Wolf, would you and your team mind keeping us company a little longer?”

            “Sorry Fox, but we did what we got paid to do. No more, no less. Star Wolf is clearing out.”

            “I figured as much.” Fox muttered a curse to the lazy mercenary team. “Well, until we meet again.”

            “Pray that we don't, because next time we most likely won't be under friendly terms.”

            Fox spotted Krystal's fighter flying off into the vastness of space, most likely headed towards wherever Star Wolf planned to rally up. _I dread the day that happens…_

            Wolf spoke again, this time with an ominous tone. “Now before I go, Fox, I promised someone that I would let him talk to you, pilot to pilot. Which means your team won't be interfering.”

            “Fox, look out!” Lucy yelled into her head set. Fox looked down at his scanners to see an incoming electric blast headed straight for him from below. He instantly rolled his fighter to the left dodging the blast and the fighter that followed it. Fox recognized its design. It was a triangular fighter with reverse-delta wings and a rear-centered vertical stabilizer. The fighter was only equipped with a smart bomb and a zapper: a slow but powerful electric beam that could vaporize any aircraft. It was when Fox saw the red rose painted on the right side of the fighter's cockpit that his deduction was confirmed. It was Panther Caroso’s fighter, with none other than Panther behind the wheel.

            “Hello McCloud,” Panther began with his soft, yet baleful growl. “You don't know how long Panther has been waiting to have this little meeting with you.”

            “What's the meaning of this Panther?!” Fox exclaimed, “What did I ever do to ruffle your fur?!”

            “Oh, it's not my fur you ruffled, you've merely upset my rose. And you know that all my enemies who upset Panther’s rose, let alone _see_ her, meet death.” Panther swooped around and took another shot at Fox, who bolted forward, clearing the way of the blast.

            “This is ridiculous! Wolf, call your boy off!”

            “Sorry Fox. We came and did what we were paid to do. Now all bets are off. You'll just have to talk it over, _pilot_ to _pilot_.”

            Fox gritted his teeth in frustration as he kept his arwing in motion in order to avoid getting disintegrated. He knew it was a bad idea to call in the Star Wolf team to help. “You're only bringing a storm down upon your head Wolf! The Cornerian reinforcements are on their way, and whether or not you've fulfilled your 'contract', they aren't going to take kindly to you attacking one of their allies.”

            “According to the dog you spoke with on the Cornerian cruiser, Panther has ten minutes to have it out with you. And from what I've seen of him when he works, that's plenty of time.”

            Falco began to dart towards the Black Rose. “Here's problem number two with your plan Wolf, Star Fox isn't just going to stand by while you allow Panther to attack our leader.” Leon interrupted Falco's flight path with a heavily charged laser blast.

            “Oh contraire, you feathered rodent. That's _exactly_ what you're going to do.”

            That was enough to set Falco off again. “Alright you cold blooded dust eater! Let's see how well you use your 'tongue' when a falcon is hunting you down!” He whipped around and began to chase Leon, but before he could fire, the Rainbow Delta vanished before his eyes. “What the? Where the hell did you go?!”

            “There's one more thing that makes me all the more superior to you, bird. Not only are we chameleons stealthy movers, but we also have the ability to blend-in with our surroundings. In my case, a cloaking device. You will also notice I have vanished from your radar, making me completely invisible to both you and your fighter. You are not the hunter anymore, falcon. I am.”

 

……………………………….

 

Lucy, Amanda, and Toad watched in shock as Panther came out of nowhere and attacked Fox, and Falco chased Leon off in the distance.

            Lucy broke the silence. “We need to help them.”

            “Then let's get in there! We're not doing any good sitting here with our jaws open!” Slippy said.

            “You said it sugar!” Amanda added. The three pilots began to head toward the skirmishes, but went right back to a halt when Wolf zoomed in and placed himself in their path.

            “I don't think so. You see, I told Fox he would have to talk it out just him and Panther, and I meant it.”

            “Go chase your tail Wolf.” Lucy replied, “It's all you're good for if you think that you can keep all three of us from aiding our friend.”

            “You're right, I do seem a little outnumbered don't I?” Wolf instantly rotated his fighter towards Slippy's and hammered laser blasts into his right wing, bursting through the shield and tearing the wing to shreds. Slippy shrieked as he fought to maintain control of his arwing, now that its balance was in turmoil. “There, now I only have two pilots to deal with.”

            “Slippy!” Amanda exclaimed. She looked back at Wolf, staring him dead in the eyes. “You're going to wish you had never even got in our way!”

            “Control your temper woman, and head my warning. I only damaged Slippy's fighter enough to keep him from interfering. He can still make it back to your cargo ship. As for you and your girlfriend, here's what I would suggest. If you look over to your left, you will see that Falco has lost sight of Leon. This is due to a cloaking device that he had installed on his wolfen. Any second now he will reappear and blow that bird to bits. Now Fox is your leader who is in a completely fair firefight with Panther. You also know Fox to have a much better judgment than Falco, most of the time. I would strongly advise you choose to help the one who is truly in need, instead of your leader who can hold his own.”

            Amanda and Lucy looked at each other, then Amanda looked back over at Slippy. “Can you make it back hun?”

            “Don't worry about me babe, you just help out the others. I'll be fine.”

            “Be safe.”

            “Tick tock.” Wolf said with a bone chilling grin. “There's Leon now.”

            Lucy and Amanda watched as the Rainbow Delta began to reappear right behind Falco's fighter. The two girls looked at each other.

            This time Amanda broke the silence. “Alright, let’s go save us some falcon tail feathers.”

 

…………………………….

 

            Fox maneuvered through the leftover scrap from the battle he had just come out of, dodging blasts from the fighter above him in a battle he just entered into. “Funny thing about the little rose painting on your wolfen, Panther. I’ve seen it many times, yet here I am still flying.”

            “I’m afraid you misunderstand the meaning of Panther’s phrase, Fox. Panther no longer refers to the painting on his right. My rose is much more valuable to me. Without her, my life is incomplete. I was truly blessed the day she came into my life.” Panther sighed and began to speak in a soft purr as he thought of his ‘rose’. “I had never seen anything so beautiful and so majestic as my rose. She was so graceful, so talented, and very strong hearted.” Panther’s voice turned back to a growl. “She would never accept defeat, she would always fight for what she wanted. Do you know what that was Fox?”

            Fox knew very well what it was, as well as who Panther considered his ‘rose’, and it tormented Fox to hear it.

            Panther continued, “It was family. Someone that she could rely on and trust when she was in need. Much like you. She had always hoped that _you_ would be her family. That _you_ could be there for her by understanding what she was going through. But there was one thing stopping you wasn’t there? Selfishness.”

            Fox’s pain only increased, and began to fuel his rage.

            Panther smiled at Fox’s silence. “Yes, selfishness. You were afraid to lose her and in your fear, in order to feel better about yourself, you withheld her one wish from her. You left her all alone, with no strength to fall back on. But worry not Fox, she is safe. For in her moment of darkness, a light shined bright. She was hesitant at first, but she reached out and grasped it. From that moment on, she felt safe again. She had strength to rely on once more. Star Wolf was that light, we are her family now. She depends on us for strength.” Panther paused, savoring the moment and taking pleasure in what he was about to say next. “And she turns to me for comfort. She will never turn to Star Fox again. She will never turn to _you_ again.”

            Fox had heard everything he could stand. He let out a large cry of anger as he flipped his fighter around and headed straight for Panther, sending a swarm of lasers toward of him. Panther maneuvered through the fusillade and zoomed right over Fox’s head. Both fighters flew out a ways before turning to face each other again.

            “Your arwing’s firepower is impressive,” Panther said with an amused growl, “but it will not help you. You know as well as I that a weapon doesn’t win the battle, but the one who wields it. Come, let us duel and find out who is the superior aviator. Face my rose’s death sentence, McCloud. Can you overcome it?”

            Fox tightened his grip on the Arwing II’s controls. “We’re about to find out!”

 

…………………………

 

            Falco frantically searched the area looking for Leon’s fighter. “Show yourself you little green coward!”

            Leon’s voice came over the headset. “This is not cowardice, falcon. This is superiority.”

            “Why don’t you come on out and show me just how ‘superior’ you are!”

            “All in good time, I warned you that we chameleons are slow and steady movers. Patience is key when we are on the hunt. But after a long wait, our chance is upon us.” The coms grew eerily quiet, then Leon continued. “Believe me when I tell you, we take it!”

            Amanda’s voice burst over the coms. “Watch it Falco, he’s right behind you!”

            Falco looked in his rear view mirror to see the Rainbow Delta slowly re-appearing behind him, with its laser charged and ready to fire. He jerked his fighter to the right just in time to avoid the blast.

            Leon cursed under his breath, but retained his composure. “Your friends have saved you for the moment falcon, but numbers won’t gain you victory.” With that his fighter vanished again.

            “Thanks for the warning.” Falco said to Amanda and Lucy as they flew up and started circling the area.

            “Happy to assist, but we still have the issue that we don’t know where he is.” Lucy said.

            “There has to be some way to spot him.” Amanda said.

            Leon’s voice re-appeared. “There are none. Even if you do come up with a way, I can hear everything you’re saying over the com line.” He snickered.

            Falco smiled. “Well, we’ll just have to fix that little problem won’t we? Lucy, Amanda, switch to our _private_ com line.” The three pilot’s switched to an isolated channel that they had set up for situations such as this. “Can you all read me?”

            Amanda and Lucy both acknowledged his question.

            “Now that our little eaves dropper can’t hear us, I have a plan.”

            Lucy butted in. “Does that plan involve dodging the smart bomb headed straight for you?!”

            Falco looked up to see the small red and white diamond shaped object descending upon him. He slammed down on his controls in an attempt to outrun it, but he didn’t clear the blast radius in time. The bomb went off, sending Falco’s Sky Claw spiraling into the distance, with Falco blacked out in the cockpit.

 

………………………………………..

 

            Fox and Panther set their thrusters to full throttle and headed straight for each other. Fox commenced shooting away at Panther, who performed the same maneuvers as before to dodge the hellfire. They passed by each other once again, both fighters unscathed.

            “That's strike two, Fox. Surely you have more to you than that. Don't let your anger cloud your judgment. That's exactly how you lose the match, McCloud.”

            “Just give me one more pass and I'll show you how clouded my judgment is!”

            Panther smiled. “Come, face my rose's sentence once more.”

            Fox flipped around and prepared to make another run, but stopped when he heard Krystal's voice come over the com line. “Panther! Stop this madness right now!” Even when yelling, her voice was angelic.

            Both pilots looked over to see Krystal hovering a thousand feet away from where they were having their skirmish. “My rose!” Panther responded, sounding like a youngling caught with his hand in a cookie jar. “You were supposed to fly back to the rally point.”

            “I was, but after I had flown a good distance with nobody following me, I assumed something was wrong and turned around. Looks like I was right!”

            “Forgive me, my rose. Whenever we are together you spin tales of how much pain this fox had caused you, all the suffering you experienced on his behalf. Panther is merely here to repay him for causing his rose strife.”

            Fox slowly dropped his gaze to the floor of his fighter at hearing of Krystal's continued affliction after he left her.

            “That never meant I wanted him dead Panther!” Krystal shouted. “I only needed to share my pain in my times of sadness to help my heart heal!” She paused, calming herself before continuing. “Leave him, come with me. You've proven enough to me.”

            “This isn't about proving anything, my rose. This is about bringing justice to the one who attacked your heart. His sentence has been passed, he must pay for his crimes.”

            Wolf had been standing by watching the whole scene unravel, and stepped in to clear Krystal of the battlefield. He launched a tow cable at her arwing, which landed and attached to its rear, and Wolf began to pull her away. Krystal instantly began to fight the Wolfen's pull by flying in the opposite direction.

            “Wolf! What are you doing?!” She exclaimed.

            “Let the males talk Krystal, this is no place for a lady.” Wolf said as he increased the power in his thrusters to counteract the fight Krystal was putting up, with little success.

            Panther spoke up. “Don't fight him, my rose. Panther knows you wish no harm upon this fox, but it must be done. One day you will see the light and when you do, you will thank me for my deed.”

            “Panther no! Please don't do this!” She screamed, continuing to fight Wolf's pull.

            “Common Krystal, it's time to go.” Wolf said as he reached down and pressed a button on his control panel that sent an EMP wave through the tow cable, powering down her fighter. He then took off with her trailing behind before she could offer further protest.

            “Good-bye my rose.” Panther muttered softly. He then turned his attention back to Fox McCloud, who looked devastated after hearing all that Krystal and Panther had said. Panther put on a triumphant smile. “Now McCloud, it is time for our final joust. Prepare yourself, for only one of us will emerge victorious.”

            Fox didn't even glance up at Panther. He already felt defeated. The memory of the night at the bar where he had abandoned Krystal was racing through his head: her trembling, her tears, and her collapse to the alley floor. _Maybe Panther's right, maybe it's time I did face my crime._ He looked up at the Black Rose that was hovering a couple thousand feet ahead of him. _Alright Panther, you want me? You can have me._ Fox charged up his thrusters, and took off for the final time. _Its better this way Fox,_ he told himself. _It's better this way..._

Krystal's voice stopped Fox's thoughts dead. “Fox, please don't do this! I don't want you dead! Your team needs you!”

            “Krystal...” Fox managed to whisper through the shock of hearing her voice in his head. His vision quickly cleared from the blur of his emotions and focused on a little red and white object coming straight at him. _Smart bomb!_ Before Fox could react, the bomb went off and blasted him back a good distance. Fox felt as if he had just slammed into a brick wall. His head spun as he tried to regain full consciousness and grasp his situation. He was thankful the bomb went off at the distance it did; any closer and he might have been no more. _You're still in this, why?_ Fox asked himself. _What are you fighting for?_ He thought of Krystal's words. ' _Your team'....._ A new determination emerged inside of him. _You can't abandon them, you won't! Not even for your debt to Krystal..._ Fox winced at the thought. After everything he had put her through, tossing his guilt aside was no easy task. But he would do it. For Star Fox; for his family. When his fighter slowed to a stop he fought his dazed state trying to find Panther, who he spotted heading straight for him from above.

            “You have lost McCloud. Now for my rose's sake, you will meet death!”

            Fox tried to move his arwing out of the way of his oncoming doom, but it didn't budge. The blast from the bomb had depleted his shields, and knocked the fighter's power out cold. He realized it was over, his luck had finally run out. Fox failed himself, failed the galaxy, and failed his team. He closed his eyes and prepared to meet his fate, when he heard Wolf shout over the com link.

            “Panther, look out! We're headed straight for you!”

            Fox looked back up and saw Panther fire an electric blast straight at him, but it never made contact. Another spacecraft had flown between him and the shot, taking the impact. Fox watched in horror as he realized the fighter that saved him was Krystal's!

            The carnage didn't stop there, Wolf's fighter was still attached to hers, and as she cleared the way of Panther's flight path, she pulled Wolf right into it, causing Panther to slam into the front end of Wolf’s wolfen, breaking the tow cable and sending both Panther and Wolf hurtling into the distance.

            Krystal's shields had sustained most of the damage from the blast, but her engines had also taken some of the toll. Her arwing drifted lifelessly through space, rotating around to where Fox could see Krystal in the cockpit. The shot had knocked her unconscious, but besides a little bruising she appeared to be intact. Fox let out a sigh of relief, but terror immediately filled him again. In his skirmish with Panther, Fox had failed to take note of one thing. They were only a few thousand feet above Venom's atmosphere, and Krystal was drifting straight towards it.

 

……………………………….

           

            Falco came out of his unconscious state, with a small headache as a souvenir. He heard Amanda's voice over the headset.

            “Did you see where the bomb came from?!”

            “Tracking and chasing, follow my lead!” Lucy responded. Falco looked towards his last position to see Lucy and Amanda chasing...nothing. They were just zipping around and shooting into empty space. On a normal occasion he would've thought them crazy; but with their current opponent, Falco knew it was Leon they were firing at.

 _They got a lock._ Falco thought to himself, a smile creeping onto is face, “We have you now” _._ He looked down at his controls and began to assess the damage done to his fighter. The shields were gone, the body had received some damage, but nothing seemed to be severely out of order. The Sky Claw would still fly. _Slippy will never let me live down losing my shields though._ He thought with a low grunt. He grabbed the controls and flew back towards the action. On his way over he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He looked towards the distraction, and what he saw nearly made his heart stop. “Oh hell no.” He whispered.

 

……………………………………..

 

            Fox instantly went into action, pushing the Arwing II's thruster lever forward in order to reach Krystal before she got any closer to Venom's atmosphere. When the fighter didn't budge, he remembered that the blast from Panther's smart bomb had powered it down. He desperately searched for the ignition and attempted to start it back up. The fighter chugged a little, but then fell silent. Fox cursed under his breath. “Come on, come on.” After repeating the process a few more times he looked back up towards Krystal. She was picking up speed as the distance closed between her and Venom, and gravity began to take effect. Fox looked back at his arwing's ignition and continued his attempts. “Come on! Come ON!” Out of his peripheral vision, Fox noticed a sudden amount of activity. He looked back up towards the movement and froze. Emerging from the mist covering Venom's surface came another wave of enemy fighters, much larger in number than the previous group, headed straight towards Krystal and him. “No... No... No, no, no, NO!” He hit his ignition one more time, and finally had success as his control panel lit up and the fighter's engines roared to life. Fox turned his arwing towards Krystal's and sent his thrusters to full blast, racing the swarm to get to her. He watched as an incoming Angler fighter aimed it's blasters toward her, but he stopped its intentions by firing first, blowing the Angler to bits. His shots only gained the attention of three other fighters that converged on his arwing instantly, letting their laser cannon's loose on him. Against his instincts, Fox had to flip around in order to avoid the blasts, leaving Krystal to continue drifting into Venom's atmosphere.

            He sped ahead of the group, putting distance between him and them before he flipped around again and headed straight towards them. He looked past all the fighters to see Krystal's Cloud Runner now almost falling into Venom's clutches as gravity took full effect on the fighter and left all weightlessness behind. _Oh no you don't!_ Fox increased his arwing's speed and flew right into the storm of enemies, dodging lasers from what felt like every direction. _Why did you have to risk your life to save mine Krystal, WHY?! Panther was right… All I've ever done is cause you pain and suffering. You could've let me be done away with right then and there, never having to worry about me again. Justice would've been done! I would've gotten what I deserved!_

Lucy's voice interrupted his thoughts. “Fox! Do you have a death wish?! Get out of there! You're going to get yourself killed!”

            “I should already be dead!” He replied.

            “What are you talking about?!”

            “Panther had me! He was about to take my life when... when she swooped in...”

            “Krystal?!”

            “Yes! She put herself between Panther and I and took the blast for me! Now she's drifting into Venom's atmosphere and I'm going to lose her any second! I won't let her die for my sake! It's my life that should be gone right now, not her's!”

            Fox finally made it through the army of fighters, only to watch Krystal's Cloud Runner disappear into Venom's dense blanket of fog. The planet had taken her.


	4. Chapter 4

            “NO!” Fox cried as he dove in after her without hesitation. The vapors of Venom engulfed his fighter as he began his decent into the heart of the very evil he had combated all his life. The fog took his visual contact with Krystal as well as all other fields of view, yet Fox didn't slow for a second. Instinct had taken over all rational thought. Fear and anger pulsed through his veins and drove him beyond his senses. He had forgotten his team up above, forgotten the second wave of fighters, and forgotten the very nature of the planet he was diving into. Only one thing was set in his mind; Krystal would not die here, not now, and not under the current circumstances. He had taken away her family, her security, her strength, and her happiness. _You will not die for me!_

Fox scanned beyond his cockpit windshield, thirsting to spot Krystal, but his eyes met nothing but a vast, dense, murky red haze. He looked down at his radar screen but saw no sign of her arwing ahead of him. Fear began to overrule his anger and drown his mind in a sudden flood of nightmares. The fog cleared, and he saw Krystal's fighter crash into the ground, disintegrating as would a drop of rain that falls on soil; a fate her flesh shared with the arwing. The spark from the friction of the collision ignited the fuel spilling from its tank, fire flashed, and the explosion followed. Her fur was scorched, her skin turned to ashes, her bones were shards, and her blood was evaporated; Krystal was no more. Fox began to convulse. The vision was increasing in strength; it seemed all too real. She was erased from existence. He had no physical body to cling to as he wept over her, never felt the last traces of her warmth before it left her, didn’t get a final glance at her beautiful face. Her delicate voice would only haunt him in his dreams, never to sing through the universe again. Fox grasped his head, flattening his ears with his palms and pressing into his skull with his fingers, his claws drew blood that trickled down his face. Fox felt none of it, for the pain of the hellish dream overwhelmed his entire being. Through all of this, one regret tore at him worse than anything comprehensible; three words had haunted him during Krystal's life, and never ceased tormenting him after her death. Fox lifted his hands from his head and looked upon them. He saw the blood that covered them, though he knew it not as his own, but as Krystal's. A tear fell from his eye, mixing with the red liquid streaming from his scalp, as it ran down his cheek. “I'm sorry...” He spoke in a ghostly whisper. Fox looked up from his fit of trembling, another tear rolling down his face as he choked out his next three words. “I love you.”

            A sudden beeping from the Arwing II's control panel drew Fox out of the nightmare and back to his conscious state. He looked at the source of the noise and his face filled with terror as he realized he had five seconds before he flew straight into Venom's surface. His instincts kicked back in as he grabbed his controls and yanked on them with a force he had used only a few times in his life. The fighter pulled up just enough to avoid a nose dive into the rocky terrain, however nothing could be done to escape the bottom of the arwing smashing into the ground and grinding away as it began to slow to friction. Fox shut his eyes and gritted his teeth as he waited for it to end. He felt the fighter ram into something large, yet instead of bursting through the obstacle, the Arwing II gave and flipped over into the air and landed belly up, continuing to slide along the surface. Fox was losing consciousness due to being thrown back and forth into the walls of his arwing in the process. He opened his eyes, fighting his blurred vision as he assessed his situation. Fox looked toward the ground and noticed something strange. It wasn't rock he was sliding down anymore, it was steel pavement. His fighter was sliding down a highway.

            Before Fox could think any further, his head was thrown into his control panel as the arwing smashed into another large object and came to an abrupt halt. The last thing he saw as his eyes rolled up into his head was the slow and constant flashing of the lights in his control panel, the road he had rocketed down, and large pieces of rubble falling from above and shattering into the ground. Then all went dark.

 

….............................................................................................

 

            Lucy and Amanda both slowed their fighters to a halt when their eyes fell upon the incoming armada.

            “Oh hell no.” They heard Falco say over the com set. The two girls looked at each other and then back at the swarm. All three Star Fox pilots could find nothing further to say. Finally Falco broke the silence.

            “Reinforcements are still four minutes out.”

            “We're gonna have to fall back to the Great Fox II if we have any hope of surviving this.” Amanda stated, switching her com channel to the frequency of the Great Fox II. “Slippy, you there sugar? Please tell me you made it back alright...”

            The high pitched reply brought relief to the trio. “Yeah, by the skin on my bones! But I'm alright. I'm heading up to the bridge now. How are things going?”

            Falco butted in, urgency poured from his beaked mouth. “Not hot Slip', turns out Venom wasn't done serving us ugly bastards! We're bookin’ it back to the Great Fox ourselves and we're gonna need some serious firepower if we hope to survive the next four minutes.”

            “I'll see what I can do, but with all that we used during the first skirmish it's gonna be tight...”

            “It'll have to do... we got no other choice.” With that Falco whirled his fighter around and shot out towards the team's mother ship. Amanda left next and Lucy was about to follow, when she suddenly realized something was missing. _Fox!_

She searched every sector of her field of view, checking each vessel coming her way, trying to pick out any familiar characteristics of the Arwing II. She didn't have to look long, for when she saw it, the arwing was flying ahead of the group headed straight towards her. Lucy allowed her tense muscles to relax, but they seized right back up as she watched Fox's arwing turn around and fly straight back into the hoard. She immediately switched her frequency and attempted to contact him.

            “Fox! Do you have a death wish?! Get out of there! You're going to get yourself killed!”

            “I should already be dead!” He replied.

            Lucy was taken back. She remembered his engagement with Panther. _Had he lost?_ “What are you talking about?!”

            “Panther had me!

            _Yep._

            He was about to take my life when... when she swooped in...”

            _She... She..._ “Krystal?!”

            “Yes! She put herself between Panther and I and took the blast for me! Now she's drifting into Venom's atmosphere and I'm going to lose her any second! I won't let her die for my sake! It's my life that should be gone right now, not her's!”

            Lucy didn't even realize that she lost sight of Fox as panic set in. She knew he had to save Krystal, but she also didn't want to see anything happen to him. She had grown so accustomed to having him as a captain. Due to the loss of her mother, Fox was the closest thing to family she had. She was fortunate enough to still have her father, but he was always so occupied with his business as General of the Cornerian Army that he never had time for her. Fox had taken her in and taught her the skills she would need to succeed in this life. He had comforted her in times of grief, protected her in times of danger.

            A loud cry from Fox brought her out of her zoned state. “NO!” He exclaimed.

            Lucy's heart started racing. “Fox? Fox?! Can you hear me?! What's going on?!” No answer, Lucy's heart-rate increased. “Fox! Come in Fox! Do you copy?!” Still silence. _Don't die on me Fox. Please... Don't leave me..._

            Falco's voice replaced Fox's. “Lucy, you wanna get your pretty little cotton tail outta there? You got about fifteen seconds before those fighters are in blastin’ range of you!”

            Lucy cleared her mind and tuned back into her current situation to find truth in Falco's words. She spun her fighter towards the Great Fox II and set her thrusters to full blast in order to have any hope of staying ahead of the coming storm. _Hell Fox, I might just be dying with you..._

_…........................................................................................_

_Someone… Help me…_

            Fox jolted awake with a short, sharp cry at the sound of Krystal's pleading. There was something strange about her voice. He hadn't heard it externally, he heard it internally; inside his head. Just like before she had saved his life from Panther. Fox had heard her in his head, pleading with him not to deliver himself into Panther's hands. _Her telepathy..._ That only meant one thing. _She's still alive!_

Fox looked down at his chest where the buckle held the straps together that kept him stationary in the arwing. He pressed the button to release the buckle and instantly dropped from his seat, slamming head first into his cockpit window, the rest of his body crumpling down afterwards. Fox's head ignited with a fierce, throbbing pain as he remembered that his ship had flipped over before coming to a slamming halt into some kind of structure. The next thing he noticed was a sudden wet sensation he felt in the fur on the back of his head, neck, and any other exposed posterior area of his body. Fox let his head roll to one side and felt the moisture creep up his cheek as he laid eyes on the red, liquid pool he was lying in. He lifted his hand and held it above his face, watching the scarlet fluid drip from his fingertips, and feeling each one land on his snout. Fox let out another short lived holler as the agonizing pain rushed through his head again. He recalled his nightmare, how he had driven his claws into his skull _._ He remembered the crash the followed, how he had been tossed around in his seat like a rag doll, his head slamming all over the cockpit. Another bolt of pain rippled through his cranium as he remembered the winning blow, when his ship plowed into whatever it was in its path, and momentum carried his forehead straight into his forward control panel. Fox let his hand and arm fall back into the cool pool of blood. _Blood... this... this is my blood, this is a LOT of my blood._

The impulse to pass out came over him again due to his sudden knowledge of his blood-loss. Dizziness set in and Fox began to feel very light headed. Then he remembered Krystal's cry for help. _No! You can't die here. You... you have... you have to save... save... her..._ Fox was slipping from consciousness fast. He focused on Krystal, not knowing what state she was in. All he knew was that she was alive, and he was the only one on Venom who had any chance of reaching her. He opened his previously closing eyes as a fiery passion and determination radiated from his hazel green irises. _You have to save her!_

Fox rolled onto his side, ignoring the chill caused by his blood that continued to soak his fur and seep through his clothes as he brought himself to his knees. He looked up and around his tightly enclosed prison, giving his eyesight a moment to clear itself of the fog brought about by his movement. Once he could perceive everything as it was, he searched for something he could use to break through the glass dome of his arwing. _My rifle!_ Fox looked over at the compartment that every arwing was built with to hold an aviators firearm while in flight; the weapon was still there. He grabbed and yanked it out of the holder, taking a brief moment to inspect it. Fox carried a fully automatic laser rifle. He never considered it anything special, it was the standard issue of every soldier in the Cornerian Army. Few could match its precision and accuracy, and its power far outdid the weapons of the past; which fired mere brass bullets. It was built with carbon fiber materials, so it was lightweight and could be quickly and easily maneuvered.   However, thanks to Slippy, who also had a knack for weaponry mechanics, some upgrades and extra attachments gave Fox's blaster an edge that placed it above most of its kin.

            Upon completion of the short examination, Fox flipped the blaster around in order to use the butt of the weapon to break through the glass trapping him in his fighter. He inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, summoning as much energy as he could. Arwing protective glass domes were built to withstand blows from miniature asteroids, roughly the size of basketballs, traveling at speeds of up to five thousand miles-per-hour. The only hope Fox had of smashing through said glass was due to the cracks already placed in the dome from the crash. He aimed at a good sized fracture, grasped his rifle with both hands as tight as his muscles would allow, swung the blaster off to his side, and brought the butt of it right down on the center of the crack with enough force to shatter a concrete brick. No change. He swung again. Nothing, the crack remained its original size. Fox took a deep breath, then began continuously swinging at the glass. He hit it a third time, then a forth.

_Come on!_ His mind begged in desperation.

            A fifth, a sixth.

            _Please just break!_

           Seventh, eighth.

            Fox's thoughts met his voice. “Damn window! Break!”

            Ninth, tenth.

            “You piece of shit! Why,” eleventh, “won't” twelfth, “you”, thirteenth, “just” fourteenth, “break!”

            He went for another blow, but fell flat on his back mid-swing, splashing back down into the crimson pool beneath him. With the pain of his head overwhelming him and his energy depleted, Fox couldn't even summon anything to release a howl of anger. He just lay there, his backside soaking in blood, feeling defeat.

            _No!_ He scolded himself, _you aren't giving up! If there is ANY chance Krystal is still out there, you will, not, quit!_ Fox looked around thinking of another way out. He didn't dare try shooting through the glass, lest the blast bounce right back into his face. Since the fighter was upside down, opening the hatch was out of the question. That's when it hit him. _We're just going to have to get this fighter right side up!_ He looked through the glass dome and observed the angle of his fighter. The nose was touching the ground and pointing towards the opening left by the arwing in whatever it was it smashed into. Which meant the engines were aimed towards the inside of the structure, angled towards the ceiling. If the Arwing II had any power left, he could channel it to the boosters, which would, in turn, propel the ship forward. Hopefully the nose would collide with something solid and strong, or drive into the pavement beyond, creating a friction powerful enough to catch the fighter and cause it to flip over onto its belly. _Then I'll be able to pry this blasted dome open!_

            Fox rolled back up onto his knees, placed his rifle back in its compartment, and looked up at the switch that powered his fighter and flipped it to the on position, no response. “Yeah... that's what I thought. Still might have the reserves...” _Though I'll have to route it to the booster engines manually._ He slowly got to his feet, maneuvering his head between the seat and the dash board, obtaining a position where he was looking down at what was normally considered 'underneath the control panel'. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a single bladed pocket knife that his father gave him as a kit. Flipping the blade out, he used it to carefully pry off the metal sheet that hid and protected the wires in the dash. Once the panel was removed, Fox smoothly put the knife back in its pocket of origin. A corner of his mouth curved into a smile. “Thanks dad.” He quietly remarked.

            Looking into the opening he created, Fox caught sight of a small glowing light bulb that indicated there was still reserve power. “Now we're getting somewhere.” He set to work on the wiring, directing power to the engines and saving a fraction of it for the control panel in order to fire up said engines when ready. Fox was no mechanic or electronics engineer, but he always made sure he knew just enough to get himself out of situations such as these should the need ever arise. Back during his training on Corneria, it was a requirement of every pilot. After a couple minutes of work, and a time or two of getting a slight zap from electricity, the power was connected to exactly where Fox wanted it. He replaced the cover to the opening in the dash and dropped back down to his knees. _Time for a little calisthenics._ He thought with a smirk. Facing the opposite direction of the seat, he reached up and got a firm grip on the armrests. Then he pulled himself up with his arms, simultaneously using the rest of his upper/mid body to roll up into the natural position of one sitting in a cockpit. Fox was upside down at this point, and by tucking his legs underneath his seat he was able to hang in place while he strapped himself in tight. He could feel the blood rushing to his head. _Better do this quick._

Fox turned on his control panel and brought his engines roaring to life. He then tucked his chin into his chest and held it there by wrapping an arm over his head. _No injuries this time._ His free arm and hand reached over to the thruster lever and grasped it firmly. _And in three, two, one._ Fox sent the lever to its forward position. The boosters sent fire spitting from their pipes, and the fighter gradually began to edge forward before blasting off at a remarkable speed. The nose instantly barreled through one side of the structure's opening and pierced into what Fox recognized to be a hover-car. The vehicle slid with the arwing until it slammed into a second hover car, bringing it to a halt and giving just the resistance he was looking for. The arwing halted for a split second before the rear half of the jet shot skyward, and the entire thing fell over onto its stomach. Fox had kept one hand on the thruster and immediately pulled it back the moment his arwing was right side up. The engines slowly died, and all was quiet.

Fox breathed a sigh of relief, then began to chuckle like a merry mad genius. “It worked.” He said, pausing from his chuckling but starting right back up after his statement was finished. He placed his hands on his head and slid them down his face, feeling the still-damp blood that had soaked nearly all his fur and clothing. He paused his chuckling again. “I can't believe it worked!” He looked up and took in his surroundings, the air of his mood quickly became serious and edgy. The mist wasn't as thick on Venom's surface, and it revealed the complete view of what happened on the planet. For a time, Venom had flourished with cities larger than those on Corneria. Fox had landed in the outskirts of one of them, or at least, what was left. Not a living soul could be seen. The only thing that filled Fox's eyes was the sight of buildings that were demolished or badly damaged, hover-cars and trucks that would never run again, streets that were full of cracks, fissures, and piles of rubble, skeletons of trees and bushes that had once burst with life, and a gloomy red hue that suffocated it all.  

            Suddenly it came again. The angelic, yet terrified voice of the one who was down here with him, ringing through his head. _Someone... please... help me..._

            Her words were weak and filled with terror. All thoughts occupying Fox's conscience died out, and his main mission took over. _I'm coming Krystal. Don't worry, I'm coming!_ He thought as strong as he could, hoping she could read his message. He knew she was hurt and didn't have much time left; if it wasn't too late already... Either way, he wouldn't waste another second sitting in his cockpit.

            He retrieved his blaster from its compartment and unbuckled himself from his seat. _Venom's air probably isn't the safest to breath with its nuclear history. Better grab a mask._ He knew it wasn't the safest to expose his skin to either, but with Krystal's life on the line, it was a risk he was willing to take. He reached over to a side compartment, and pulled out a small, black, cone-like shaped mask that was designed to fit snug over the snout, allowing the wearer to breathe filtered oxygen. Strapping it on, he looked at the button to release the lock that held the glass dome down to the metal frame of the cockpit. Fox sent up a quick prayer before pressing it. He heard the sound of a loud click, and the dome was released from its holster. _Thank Lylat!_ He placed his free hand on the glass and pressed upwards, flipping it over and allowing himself to climb out of the Arwing II unhindered. The moment he stood fully encompassed in Venom's atmosphere was when he met, for the first time, the humid heat that the planet contained. It was worse than any desert Fox had visited, or lived in for that matter on his home planet, Papetoon. The heat seemed to vacuum the very energy from his very body, while the moisture clung to his fur and clothes till he was nearly soaked, further dampening the blood that also clung to him, creating a sticky feeling all over his being.

            He jumped off the arwing and landed softly on the ground. An overwhelming chill ran through his entire body. Fox had been on Venom before, but never had he actually come in contact with the planet. He had always flown a few hundred feet above it at least. Now here he was, on its very surface, roaming its very grounds. He could feel a malicious aura about the place. An eerie evil that haunted its grounds, and Krystal was here. _Please Krystal, PLEASE be alright..._ He began to feel fear growing inside him again as he thought of the terrible things that could've happen to her. _What if something found her? It could be causing her to suffer right now, and I'm not there to stop it!_ He could hear her cries of pain, cries filled with misery and sorrow. Fox's knees began to shake and he fell to the ground. The cries grew louder and louder until Fox couldn't take anymore. He wailed in agony and begged for it to stop, begged for her tormenter to stop hurting her. The sounds became deafening, and began to throw Fox into a state of shock. It was then that he felt a hand placed upon his arm. The screaming ceased and not a further sound was heard. He lay still for a few moments, gathering himself and coming to terms with reality. He then looked up slowly and his heart stopped at what he saw. He was looking into the eyes of his father.


	5. Chapter 5

            “I've gotta get out there and help her!” Amanda said anxiously, “She's not going to make it!”

            “You aren't going anywhere!” Slippy yelled, “Lucy's got enough experience to save herself, and I won't have my wife flying into that mess!”

            “Besides, not like we have much of a chance surviving ourselves, either.” Falco stated coolly.

            Amanda's face was turning red from anger. “Falco, shut up! Slippy?!”

            Slippy's high and mighty tone dropped back down to its pitiful normal pitch. He'd heard his wife say his name that way many a time before. “Yes dear?”

            Amanda's voice took up a pleasant and sweet manner. “That's my dear friend Lucy out there. She’s about to die. You know I would do anything for you, but I would also do anything for her. Now I'm gonna go and give her a hand and save her life, okay sweetie? And I do promise to be careful.”

            “But!” Slippy rejected.

            Amanda cut him off. “Bye baby.” She said in a sweet, playful manner, before setting off to save her friend.

            “No! Amanda, get back here! I am your husband and you will obey me!” Slippy got no response. “Please?”

            “Face it Slip', it’s just you and me now.” Falco snickered.

            “Big help! It was your idea to come back to the Great Fox II! What was your comment about us not surviving all about?!”

            “I said it was our only _chance_. I never said it would actually _work_.”

            “Oh ya? Well if you're so sure we're gonna die, why don't you just fly away?! Escape while the fleet is distracted with the rest of us!”

            “I'm thinkin' about it.” Falco said with a smirk.

            Slippy said nothing, just slammed his head down on the control panel in front of him.

 

…...................................

 

            _Common Lucy, you're almost there, about another minute..._ Lucy glanced over her shoulder. _Dear Lylat, they're right behind me!_ She watched as a Venomian fighter took the first shot at her. She pushed down on her control wheel in order to avoid it, just to pull up again, avoiding a second shot. A flurry of laser blasts followed and Lucy spun into a barrel roll that carried her upwards while deflecting the blasts off of her fighter. _Please, oh please don't die! This can't be it!_ Fear quickly turned to embarrassment. Lucy got a hold of her quivering. _Get a grip!_ _Fox flew straight into this hoard and made it, hopefully… There's no reason you can't keep ahead of them for another thirty seconds!_ She continued darting left and right, up and down, throwing in a barrel roll whenever there were too many blasts to dodge.

            “Lucy, duck!”

            Lucy quickly lowered her fighter and watched a smart bomb shoot right over her head and back toward her pursuers. Tracing the trail of the bomb, she found Amanda's fighter to be the source. Lucy breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh, Amanda! Thank you!”

            “Don't thank me yet! That hardly slowed them down, we need to go!” Amanda drifted her fighter around and took off in the other direction, with Lucy hot on her heels.

            Slippy's voice came over their headsets. Common girls! You're almost within my firing range, give it all you got!”

            The enemy planes were gaining on the two ladies, who continued to desperately try to escape the fate that each shot from their pursuers contained. In the midst of the dashing around, Lucy kept her eyes trained on the team's mothership, they only had ten seconds until they reached it. She sent up a quick prayer of hope. _Please! If anything is up there, if anyone is watching over us. Spare us!_

_…............................................._

Fox's eyes didn't leave his father's. He had no words to say, not even a single thought. He just laid there, staring at the being that he thought had died many years ago. His dad, James, broke the silence.

            “Get up, Fox.” James said, reaching out his hand as he spoke.

            Still dumbfounded, Fox took the hand that James offered. Once pulled to his feet, he finally found words. “Father?”

            “I'm here, son.” He said with a soft smile.

            “No... No you can't be...” Fox looked away, trying to make sense of what was happening, but nothing would suffice. His dad was dead. Even if he had survived his battle with Andross all those years ago, Venom's nuclear cleansing would've finished him off. _Then again, there is the mysterious survival of the fleet I faced off with nearly hours ago..._ Fox looked his father over, not noticing a single scratch on him. James looked exactly as Fox had last seen him, virtually a decade ago. James and Fox were spitting images of each other. Even their clothing was identical due to Fox’s childhood passion to follow in his father’s footsteps. The only noticeable differences between the two was James’ fur contained a bit more of a red hue, and their obvious difference in age. Upon viewing his dad’s face, Fox noticed that his father was wearing no oxygen filtration mask. _Added with constant skin exposure, breathing this radiation would've killed you long ago..._ Not knowing what to think anymore, Fox was overcome with a sudden feeling of helplessness and vulnerability. He lowered his perplexed stare towards the ground. The nightmares that plagued him of Krystal's suffering and the reappearance of his long dead father were slowly throwing his mind into disarrangement. He looked back up at his father, though his gaze traveled straight through James' body. “What's going on?” Fox whispered. His tone was very distant, as if no one were there to hear it.

            “Nothing with a logical explanation.” James said with a smirk. He then looked off to his right, taking on a very solemn manner. “Venom is a dangerous place, full of lies and deceit. There are powers on this planet few know about or choose to believe in, powers that were never meant to be tampered with. Life had no business here, only death and destruction.” James paused, his face revealed a hint of strife. “When Andross came along, the planet felt his evil desires and saw its chance to spread the pain and suffering it creates, beyond its rocky surface. The powers consumed him, which he gratefully allowed, and twisted his intentions beyond what one would consider morally possible. Thus the Lylat wars began, and the strife lives on to this day.”

            Fox began to withdraw from his desolate state, his eyes locked back onto those of his dad. “What are you?” He asked, still very vacant.

            “I'm no different than the nightmares you see of Krystal. Nothing more than her scream that causes you shudder and shed tears of misery, pleading desperately for it to be over.”

            Fox closed his eyes, tucking his chin into one of his shoulders as anger and sorrow began to stream through him. “You’re just another _damn_ vision...”

            James took a moment to find his voice. “Your thoughts do not betray you, son... I died long ago... However, these visions you have do not originate from your own mind. Venom has a long deprived thirst for your blood. It thirsts for anyone who dares to stand up to it. It wants you to suffer and above all else, it wants you dead. None of these dreams you've had are real, merely attempts on your life. It feels your passion and love for Krystal, and it aims to use it against you. It nearly succeeded on your way down to the planet.” He grabbed Fox firmly by the shoulders, looking him dead in the eye. “Do not allow yourself to succumb to the nightmares. Your greatest trial yet is approaching. Krystal's time is growing short, as well as the time of every single being in Lylat. If there is _any_ chance to prevent this, it will be lost if you allow yourself to be bogged down by these tormenting thoughts.”

            Fox glared back at his father. “How do I know you aren't another cursed demon from Venom?” He broke away from his father’s grasp. “How can I trust a word you say?! For all I know, my sanity is completely gone! I may already be _dead_!”

            James looked upon Fox with sympathy. “You can't… Any explanation I give you will be no more trustworthy than the last. The only assurance I can give you is this: When you ended your second encounter with Andross, who was it that led you out of Venom's heart?”

            Fox went back to the memory of that day.

It was the end of the final era of the Lylat Wars. Through caves that led down in the deep, dark, stone heart of Venom, Fox found and faced off with Andross for the second time in his life. Andross' form had substantially changed from that of a humanoid gorilla. He had taken on the form of a large spirit, who's only physical parts where his head and two hands, all three parts greatly outsized Fox's arwing. The two traded blows back and forth; Fox fired away at the beast while dodging the ginormous hands that swiped at him. Fox gained the upper hand, and when all hope for Andross was lost, the brute detonated himself in hopes of taking Fox down with him. Fox believed he was going to die; the blast had happened too quickly for him to react to it. But in that moment, a voice called out to him. The voice of his father. “Don't ever give up, my son.”

            “Father?!” Fox had responded.

            “Follow me Fox.” Was James' reply.

            In the brightness of the blast, Fox caught sight of his father's arwing and followed him back through the tunnels and out to safety, barely clearing the explosion.

            Fox slowly returned from his memory.

“It... it was _you_. You... yousaved me that day.” Fox's head was beginning to clear. “Your spirit has been stuck on this planet all this time... How?”

            Suddenly James hollered in pain, curling over towards the ground; nearly falling to it.

            “Father!” Fox rushed to his side, helping him stand up straight again. “Are you okay?!”

            James winced, trying to fight the remaining torment. “It’s found me...”

            “It?! What the hell is going on?!”

           “My time with you is nearing an end. My message has been delivered.” James looked upon Fox with eyes filled with urgency. “Listen to your fears no longer and overcome Venom's grasp on you. Never give up Fox, trust your instincts.”

            Fox blinked and upon opening his eyes, James was gone.

            “No!” Fox cried, reaching out towards the area his father last stood as if to stop him from leaving. “Please don't leave me dad...” He quietly begged as a tear built up and streamed out of his eye. _Please... come back..._ His feelings for his father had just begun to awaken as his confusion was set at ease. He never got to tell him that he loved him, to tell him of the inspiration that he had been to him. Never in Fox's life had he imagined getting the opportunity to see his father again, and now the chance had come and gone before he could speak his mind. Instantaneously, fury filled every fiber as his body. He picked up a rock and threw it at his arwing. “Why?!” He screamed, dropping to his knees as he screamed out again, “WHYYY?!” Fox fell to his hands. _I lost you to this planet... I lost my mother to Andross... and Krystal..._ The agony of his fears returned. It was then that Fox noticed a burnt hand lying just ahead of him. He eyes traced from the hand, up the arm, and ended at the face; one that he recognized all too well.

“It wasn’t supposed to be like this Fox.” His mother said, tears in her eyes. She looked just as Fox remembered her. Sleek, orange, well groomed fur enwrapped her body. Pure white fur overlaid her muzzle and cheeks. Her form was that of a goddess. A smooth, pearl-white silk dress draped over her coat, her hands and forearms encased in gloves of the same fashion. James always spoke her name with such delicacy: Vixy.

The sight of her laying on this planet sucked the very breath from Fox’s lungs. Even his thoughts fell silent.

Without warning, Vixy screamed out in misery as her singed hand began to infect her arm and travel all throughout her body, turning her beautiful fur and silk clothing into coal-black powder.

“Mother!” Fox grabbed her arm and pulled himself closer to her, but there was nothing to be done. The burn finished by engulfing her face, and her whole body turned to ash.

Another familiar voice spoke. “These things happen son.” Fox fought past his tears to see the source of the voice further ahead. “You can’t stop them.” His father said, before he too wailed, and transformed into a pile of ash.

Fox attempted to clear his mind. _Common Fox, get in control! This isn’t real, this isn’t real…_

“Fox…” A third voice said. Fox froze. He couldn’t look towards her. He couldn’t face what he knew he was about to see. “Fox…” She said again. Fox’s eyes were slowly drawn to her against his will. Krystal stood the furthest of the two ash piles, tears streaming down her cheeks.

            “Krystal! You… I… come with me, we have to run!” She didn’t budge. “Please! I have to get you out of here!” Fox begged.

            “You left me Fox, you left me all alone in the dark.” Krystal sobbed.

            He cringed at her words. Nothing compared to their fierce sting. “I’m sorry…” He cried, once again visualizing the night he abandoned her in that backstreet alley. “I only meant to protect you, I just wanted you safe!”

“I’m scared Fox…” There was a slight pause before she shrieked and collapsed to the ground. Blood began to paint her body with abnormal lines, as if someone were carving patterns into her skin. She continued to yowl out in anguish while she lay hopeless on the ground.

“NO!” Fox yelled.

Krystal slowly fell silent, the last bit of her soothing voice cracking as it left her. Her eyes and mouth remained open as if she were still screaming. Fox knew she was dead; yet the bloody, mangled position that her spirit left her body in portrayed her continued suffering.

“KRYSTAL!!!” Fox threw himself towards her limp body, gently grasping her and holding her in his arms. He hardly recognized her now. Her fur had turned red from blood. Fox felt her body and discovered in horror that her whole skeletal system was shattered; leaving her in a mushy, disfigured state. The Krystal he knew and loved was gone.

The weight of all three deaths started to physically shut Fox down. His hands began to numb, followed by his arms and his chest. Within seconds, he had lost all feeling in his body. “It’s over…”He breathed, giving in to a silent call to fade from consciousness and give up his life. _I failed._

For a final dose of happiness, Fox went to press Krystal’s body as close to his as possible, hoping to feel her warmth one last time. He received no such comfort, her body was gone. He opened his eyes, expecting to see a pile of ash at his knees, but found nothing. Krystal had simply vanished. Fox looked at the ground behind him in search of the black piles that were once his mother and father; they were missing as well. He looked back to where Krystal’s body once was. There were no traces of blood, not the smallest hint that she was once there. Fox noticed that his strength had returned; he could function again. Fox clenched his fists in vexation over remembering his father’s warning about Venom’s plague. _Just one more thing I failed at..._

Alongside the grief, Fox was equally filled with curiosity. _What caused it to stop? It had me right there! My body was quitting on me, I was ready to die…_ Fox shivered as what felt like an ice cold bullet shot down his spine. _Why am I still alive?_ He ran through three different possibilities, the first two provided no answer. He was too weak to fight the dream himself, and his father was nowhere to be found; thus it was unlikely that his dad stepped in again. The last scenario was the most chilling. _Venom changed its mind._

If what James said was true that the planet craved Fox’s suffering and death, then his survival only meant that Venom had something else in store for Fox; something worse. _Clock’s ticking… How long?_ He thought to himself. “How long…” He murmured. Strangely, the idea gave Fox a pinch of hope. He didn’t know what was ahead, or when it would occur. What he did know was that he had gained more time, gained another shot at rescuing Krystal. He was unsure of how long the nightmare had lasted, but it didn’t matter. He would pick up her trail, and not stop hunting until he found her.

Fox got to his feet, grabbing his rifle as he stood. His fear was replaced by determination, his anger became his fuel. He returned to his arwing to load himself up with some extra gear; he had no idea who or what he would encounter on his quest, and he wanted to make sure he was ready. He used the left wing of the fighter as ramp to reach the cockpit. Once there, he pulled out a metal box roughly half the size of himself. Setting it on the wing, he unlatched the lid, opened it, and pulled out a dark-grey tactical vest loaded with three fully-loaded laser rifle magazines, two small scale smart bombs, two flash grenades, three self-sustaining, energy-lit orbs that acted as flares, a compass, a tactical knife with a six-inch fixed blade, a small first aid kit, and a hydration pack built into the back side of the vest; which he filled using the emergency water tank all space fighters contained. Fox took a good sized drink from the water pouch by attaching the drinking tube to a port built into his filtration mask for that very purpose. Once done he re-topped off the pouch, then slipped the entire vest on over his coat and strapped it snug to his body. Fox wiped a buildup of sweat off his forehead, wishing he could take the jacket off. “Can’t risk it _._ ”He muttered. Musty and broiling as the atmosphere was, he wouldn’t expose any more of his skin to the radiation filled air than he had to. To help limit his radiation absorption even further, he re-tied his red kerchief so that it covered his entire neck. He stopped mid-tie, memories filling his head of his days back on Papetoon. The kerchief had been another gift from his father, the last Fox had received from him.

It was on the morning James left Papetoon for the last time; Fox was sixteen years old. He was reminded of the rage and the hate he felt towards his father that day. “It’s on a dumb suspicion! The military is ALWAYS jumping at the slightest sound of danger!”

James spoke softly, not wanting to stir up anymore tension than already present. “A threat is a threat son. As defender of Lylat, my job is to respond to any signs of hostile activity; even on suspicion.”

“But look at where you’re going! You were the one who always told me how dangerous that place was! That no pilot, no soldier, not a single _damned_ explorer has dared venture into that shit-hole since its discovery!”

“Watch your mouth. You know your mother wouldn’t want you speaking like that.”

Fox lost it. He grabbed a small wooden table with a vase sitting upon it, and chucked it across the room. The sound of both vase and table smashing against the wall roared through the whole house. “MOM’S NOT HERE!” Fox instantly stopped, realizing what he had done. He waited for his father’s outraged response. There had always been a tension between Fox and James ever since Vixy’s death. Whenever they got on the topic, both foxes would wind up at each other’s throats by the end of it.

Yet in lieu of retaliating, his dad just stood calmly and quietly, with a look of pity and sorrow on his face. Fox determined James was waiting for him to finish; this made Fox even angrier. Yet in the heat of the moment, he found himself speechless. Finally he released his tension by breaking down weeping. “That… that bastard killed her!” He croaked. Fox’s legs succumbed to his emotions and he fell to the floor. “How?! How could you _let_ that _bastard_ kill her?!” His head dropped, eyes shut, and his tears dropped one by one onto the carpeted floor, disappearing on impact. He felt a hand being placed upon his shoulder. He looked up at his father who was now kneeling right beside him; tears swelled in his eyes as well.

“That’s why I have to go. If there is even the smallest possibility that _bastard_ may still be alive, I have to find him. He deserves nothing but justice for what he did to your mother. To my wife…” James trailed off and lowered his gaze, but quickly built up the strength to continue. He looked Fox dead in the eye. “If he is still breathing: I. Will. Kill. Him.”

Fox looked down at the ground. Suddenly he pushed James’ hand off his shoulder and jumped to his feet. “Fine. Go die like everyone else.” He turned and began to walk away. “I don’t need you anyway…”

“Who said I was going to die?”

Fox whipped around. “That bomb was meant for YOU!”

James once again stood silent.

Fox continued, “You were supposed to take the hovercraft that night! Not her, YOU!” He slammed his fist into the wall as he finished. He attempted to look back at his dad, but struggled due to the thought of the possible future. “It’s been a long time since that day… If he came up with something like that, he’ll have something else in store for you when you go…” Fox fought back the tears that were attempting to return. He wasn’t sure why, but he refused to show further weakness to his father.

The room became still for a few moments. Then James spoke. “I won’t let that stop me from avenging your mother.”

Fox took a step back, feeling a sharp stab of betrayal. “Then go get your revenge. Like I said, I can fend for myself when you don’t come back.”

Now it was James who felt the stab due to his son’s faithlessness in his father. However he reminded himself that Fox was only feeling abandoned and alone. Guilt took over his emotions. He slowly started removing a red kerchief from his neck that he had always worn for protection during sand and snow storms on certain planets, including his own. “You may call me selfish, you may call me conceded, but if the day ever comes where you care for someone as I did for Vixy, you will understand.” He held out the kerchief for Fox to take. “I want you to have this. It’s not much, but it’s something I’ve used my whole career as a pilot. Take it, and remember that no matter what, I will never abandoned you.”

Fox shook himself from his thoughts; he finished tying off the kerchief. _You were right,_ Fox lightly smirked. _Cause here I am. Without a second’s hesitation, I left my team, my family, behind to chase the woman I love into the flames of hell._ He thought of his father’s past visitation all those years ago, as well as his appearance today. _You also kept your promise…_

Fox re-focused on his gear. He made sure his laser pistol and its two extra clips were securely strapped into the holster on his right-thigh, and grabbed three small bottles of pills from the metal container. The first bottle contained Potassium Iodide, a salt of stable Iodine which prevented radiation from being absorbed by certain organs in the body, which he took a sizable dose of before slipping them into an empty pouch on his vest. _It’s something._ The other two bottles contained vitamin and protein pills, which he dropped in the pouch as well. The state-of-the-art, ‘nutrient rich’ pills by no means replaced a cooked meal, but the bottles were small and weighed next to nothing; making them easy to carry on one’s person. They also gave the body the energy it needed, when it needed it.

_That should do it._ Fox thought as he closed up the box and secured it back behind the seat of the cockpit. He then shut the cockpit dome, picked up his rifle, and hopped back down to the ground. He scanned the area for the tallest building in sight. Locating one a little over a mile from his position, he took one last drink from his hydration pouch, and started off on a steady paced jog into the city. If he could make his way to the top of the building, he would have a chance at spotting Krystal’s crash site and hopefully, Krystal.

 

……………………………………………….

 

Time slowed for Falco as he lit up an Aparoid flying dead ahead of him. Light engulfed his face as he flew through the remaining flame, which was extinguished immediately after by the freezing temperatures of space. He loved the sight of a live battlefield. Ships exploded all around him. Lasers, plasma blasts, and rockets seemed to come from every which way, soon to be followed by their initiator. Yet there was a certain part of it all that Falco savored the most: it was utterly silent; soundless chaos.

He felt quite at home in it. In a planet’s atmosphere, a person could go deaf over all the noise of destruction that conflict always seemed to court. In space, no such atmosphere existed; sound had no method of travel. Falco could hear himself think during combat, could hear the sound of his own heart beat as the adrenaline rushed through him. For him, nothing compared to it. _Not even the love of a good woman._ He snickered at the thought. Besides his occasional flirting with a planetary waitress or Star Fox female fanatic, his interest in women was next to nothing. Only one girl ever captured his attention enough to attempt a relationship with. _Katt Monroe…_

Falco had known her years prior to joining up with Fox. She was part of his rag-tag team of pilots, named the Space Hot-Rodders, which he captained himself. He was attracted to her physique right of the bat, yet that was never enough to tug at his heart strings. “Ya seen one pretty kitty, you seen em all.” He’d always say. Soft, smooth fur, bright piercing eyes, curved features, sassy and provoking personalities; just about any lone pilots dream date. But in the end they were nothing but time consuming, energy draining, and dramatic distractions from Falco’s true passion. _The Sky Claw is my baby._ He invariably told himself. _Ain’t no girl comin’ between her and me.._ Then came the day Katt knocked him off his taloned feet.

            The Hot-Rodder’s missions varied from petty theft, to fighting Venomian forces, to the harassment of rogue military groups. Any time they felt a Cornerian squad was overstepping their privileges of power on any given planet, Falco and his gang would take it into their own hands to see that the soldiers were put back in their place. This and the petty theft gained the team poor reputation with the Cornerian government, regardless of two certain rules the Hot-Rodders held for their thievery. The first: never steal more than the basic necessities: food, fuel, ammunition, water, tools, and maybe even a nice piece of furniture for their ship if they came across it. The second: only steal from facilities that could afford to lose such supplies. It was on one of these theft attempts that Falco came to find himself captivated by Katt Monroe.

            Falco grinned at the thought of what she did on that mission. Another fighter lit up not far from his, casting another shadow of light over Falco’s face that threw him back to that day as if he had travelled through time to get there.

The hot Rodders had successfully retrieved three small crates from what Falco originally assessed to be an isolated, run down military ammunition depot on planet Zoness; an aquatic planet with nothing more than a few small islands and Cornerian made military facilities breaking the surface. The boxes they grabbed contained nearly two-hundred laser cartridges each for the Hot-Rodders laser blasters and rifles. Falco had assumed the depot he had chosen was cut off from the other structures built on the planet, thus making it an easy target to get in and out of with little resistance. He was correct in his observation of its disconnection with the other military platforms, however he underestimated the time it would take for reinforcements to arrive. Falco and his team had been running down an underwater glass hallway when they saw the door open at the end and were greeted by nearly twenty Cornerian troops. The Hot-Rodders stopped dead in their tracks.

They had no place to take cover, and with another ten to fifteen troops not far behind, there was no going back.  

“Fuck.” Falco grumbled.

“What do we do boss?!” Croc, the team’s heavy gunner asked.

“I’m thinking!” Falco snapped. The air grew thick with tension. Falco’s team had faced numbers this large before, but never in such an enclosed, coverless area.

A middle aged, well-built English Mastiff humanoid yelled out to the trapped gang. “I am the commanding officer in charge of security for this weapons facility! Drop your weapons now and put your hands behind your head or we will use whatever tactics necessary to detain you!”

_Damn it!_ Falco cursed. _Why couldn’t we have run into these guys in the storage room we just came out of?!_

“Got anything yet?!” Croc asked tauntingly.

“Of course I do!” There was a short pause, then Falco looked over at Croc. “But just out of curiosity, you wouldn’t happen to have thought of something, have you?

The heavy gunner let out an annoyed grunt. “We’re screwed.”

Falco sighed then looked back at Katt, “Sorry kid, looks like your first mission with us is…” He stopped mid-sentence. Katt was looking up through the top of the glass tunnel they were in towards the surface of the ocean. What caught Falco’s tongue was the look of crazed determination in her eye.

“There’s still a way.” Katt said. She looked down at her belt and pulled out two small scale smart bombs.

“What the hell are you doin?!” Falco asked nervously.

“You there! Put the grenades down NOW!” The Mastiff barked. “In fact, all of you drop your belts too! I’m giving you five seconds before we use force!”

Katt looked up at Falco. “The great, unbeatable Space Hot-Rodders, and they’re ready to back down the minute they’re cornered; I’m kinda’ disappointed.”

A subordinate Brown Lab humanoid leaned towards the commanding officer. “Sir, we should take them _now_.”

“It’s just a scare tactic!” The Mastiff replied. “No one’s crazy enough to blow this tube, the water pressure would crush us all!”

Falco started to sweat. “Put the bombs down, you’re going to kill everyone!”

Katt smiled deviously and looked over at Croc. “Hang on to those crates big guy.”

Croc looked at Falco questioningly while gripping the crates hard enough to crush the metal shell they were made out of.

“Two seconds!” The officer yelled.

Katt took a breath, and time seemed to slow as she locked her undaunted eyes with those of the Mastiff’s. His eyes widened, and before the last second ticked away, he realized he should’ve given the order earlier.

“Take them NOW!” He screamed desperately.

“KATT NO!” Falco yelled simultaneously, but before either individuals could even finish their sentence Katt had spun a three-sixty turn and used the momentum to hurtle one grenade down each direction of the tunnel. The dogs turned and ran, and though they had stayed far enough from the intruders to clear the blast radius, the goal to clear the tunnel before the glass caved was a mere fantasy. Everything happened to fast for comprehension. The next thing the Hot-Rodders could make out was that they were surrounded by a painfully heavy mass of water.

About two minutes later Katt, Croc, and Falco were back on their carrier with Mouser: a ragged, skinny mouse humanoid who acted as the carrier’s main pilot, behind the wheel. Mouser had been flying around in range of the mission site, and Katt had held up a glowing red orb as soon as she had reached the water’s surface in order to signal him to pick them up. Falco hadn’t even given either team members time to dry off before he began his harsh lecture to Katt.

“Why are your feathers so ruffled?!” Katt scoffed in defense. “I just saved all of us from twenty years in a maximum security prison!”

“You could’ve killed us!” Falco yelled back. “In all my life, I’ve never seen such careless action!”

“Scared of the grim reaper Falco?!” She snickered. “First off, I’d take death any day over time at a Cornerian criminal containment facility! Secondly, I had observed our scenario before I made the choice. We weren’t any deeper than thirty-five feet from the surface. I’ll admit that it’s close to, but not far enough down for the water to actually crush us; maybe a ruptured ear drum at worst. Main thing is we’re free, and we got the ammo crates.”

Croc shuffled his feet. “Eh, two of them. The water ripped one right from my hands.”

“Careless!” Falco shouted again. “I’m ordering you to your quarters while I try to decide whether or not to drop you right back into the ocean!”

Katt stepped back. Falco could tell by her expression that that one hurt. Then she glared at him, turned and walked away; muttering as she left. “You couldn’t give any orders back there, when they were _needed_.”

Falco attempted to roll his fighter out of the way of some incoming laser blasts, but the spray was too wide and he was unable to come out unscathed. He never admitted it, but Katt Monroe was the only one who could ever argue with him and leave him speechless in the end. Falco would always have to end their fights by sending her away so he still appeared to be the dominant victor. Truth was, he was infatuated with her. She was fearless in the face of battle; he could tell she even shared his passion for it. Katt’s tactics even went as far as to scare Falco sometimes, he liked that about her. For the first time in his life, he had found a woman who wasn’t ‘just another pretty kitty’. She was willing _and_ able to do what she had to in order to make her way in this world, and turn it into a joyride.

Falco turned on his attacker and pursued it through the hushed bedlam. Lucy came swooping in with a Venomian fighter on her tail, timing it just perfectly to send the two antagonists slamming into each other, creating another fiery pool that Falco blissfully flew through. Space combat felt like an adrenaline filled dance to him: The graceful flight of the fighters, the maneuvers they would execute, the fire they could send out ahead of them creating a colorful display for the attacker, and a message of defeat to the attacked. And once more, not a sound could be heard.

Falco’s eyes followed Lucy’s fighter as she searched for her next target, observing her obvious enjoyment in the career. Her talent proceeded her when she had, just moments ago, made it into firing range of the Great Fox II with Amanda at her side. Her speed and determination were nearly unmatched. _I wonder how exactly she would describe the feeling._ He pondered. _How would Katt describe it…? Damn it! Stop thinking about Katt!_ That’s when it hit him. _If I’m attracted to a woman who can handle and enjoy herself in battle, why haven’t I ever had any thoughts about Lucy? She’s an available woman, quite beautiful too. Why I am not attracted to her?_ Falco continued to dance around the battlefield until he came up with a satisfying answer. _Buck teeth._

Still, in the back of his head he knew there was a second reason. One that he might never find the answer to. _There’s just something about Katt._

Slippy reported in to the team. “The Great Fox is running low on ammunition, and she’s taking heavy damage!”

“The three of us just aren’t enough to keep them all off of you!” Lucy said with concern. “How long until our reinforcements show?!”

A deep, unknown male voice interrupted the conversation. “Never in my life have I seen three mercenary pilots hold their own against this large a wave of fighters.” The three Star Fox pilots could clearly hear the amused relief dripping from his voice. “I thought for sure you’d be dead by now.”

Lucy, Amanda, and Falco all looked over to see two approaching Cornerian battle ships, both twice the size of the Great Fox II itself.

“Bout time ya’ll got here! Any longer and we might’a _been_ gone!” Amanda scolded.

“Well I’m Admiral Shepherd.” The voice replied. “I’m in command of these vessels you see before you as well as all other forms of reinforcements en route.”

Amanda returned to her threateningly sweet tone. “And how, Admiral, does that help us?”

“Just you watch little lady.” All of both battleship’s cannons turned towards the battle zone. “Oh and, you might want to clear out.” In a flash, laser and plasma beams alike spat out of the Cornerian battle cruisers faster that one could count and igniting their intended targets. The Star Fox team turned tail and darted out of harm’s way. The swarm of fighters, Aparoids, Anglers, and Venomians alike, all began to scatter to avoid contact with the incoming rods of light; instantaneously turning on the two new attackers. If the Star Fox pilots could of seen the Admiral, they would’ve saw a tall, lean, German Shepherd humanoid in a well decorated, military dress uniform with a hungry grin on his face. “Here they come.” The shepherd growled.

Falco watched from the outskirts as large hanger doors opened on the two battleships and Cornerian Arwings flew out to meet the coming storm. Lights continued to flash in both directions as the two masses clashed and the next round began. Falco displayed a similar grin of hunger as the Shepard, and flew in to join his allies. Adrenaline numbed his body as he came to a certain realization. _This isn’t a battle anymore._ A pleasant shiver ran down his spine. _War has returned to Lylat._

 

……………………………………………………………..

 

When Fox reached his target building he had no breath left in him; his lungs burned with the want for more air. His filtration mask cleansed the atmosphere’s oxygen, but not fast enough to make it plentifully available. He took a moment to slow his breathing, using the time to perform another scan of the area for any signs of trouble. _This planet may have been burned, but today it showed us that still didn’t kill it._

Fox hooked his hydration pack tube back up to his mask for another drink; savoring every moment of the cold, smooth liquid traveling down his throat. Once satisfied, he secured the tube back on his vest and began looking for an entrance into his destination. Finding nothing, he resumed jogging; heading around the structure until he came across a wide flight of steel stairs leading to a grand, glass panel composed entrance. Fox slowed his pace and knelt behind a large, rectangular, metal flower bed placed around fifty feet south west of the stair case. Fox checked every window and opening he could see for movement. Finding nothing, he removed himself from his cover and cautiously made his approach, staying close to any form of cover in case it became needed.

As he drew closer to the main entrance, Fox turned on his rifle’s flashlight and laser pointer in order to scope out the inside of the building before entering. Upon reaching the doors, he shielded himself behind a large marble pillar on the left side of the entryway. Shining his light through the windows, he swept the entire right side of what appeared to be a large furnished lobby of some sort, then quickly sidestepped all the way over to the other pillar placed on the right side of the glass doors, finishing his sweep on the left side of the lobby. It appeared to be clear, but there were plenty of desks, chairs, couches and tables that someone or something could be hiding behind. Fox noticed a small, shattered hole in the window panel next to him, and voiced a hushed call through it attempting to stir any action; everything remained still. Time being of the essence, Fox saw no other way than to just go right in. The automatic industrial sliding doors were non-functional due the ghost city’s loss of power, so he had to pry them open, making as little sound as possible in order to not alert any threats that might be in the surrounding area. The doors gave easy, and Fox slipped into the building and hid behind a conveniently placed couch not far from the doors. He waited and listened. No movement. Before continuing, he took out one of his glowing orbs and threw it in the center of the lobby to ‘turn on the lights’.

The blue glow didn’t light up every corner, but it made it so Fox could see everything rather than individual areas with his flashlight. Once the lobby was lit up, Fox removed himself from cover and observed his surroundings, taking in what used to be a hotel lobby. The front desk was made of polished wood; the tables suggested the same by the sight of their legs, but their tops were covered in rich linen. The tile floors were protected by a once glistening sealant, the walls were made of pure pearl, and the furniture was genuine leather. A room like this was once filled with lights, people, and laughter. Conversations of business, travel, events, gossip, and pleasure used to echo throughout. Then came the corruption; Venom’s sting took its toll. Now, the place was dead. The lights had gone out, the voices had disappeared, and all color had faded from the room. The whole scene was like a flower that had been ripped from the ground and left to wilt away. Cloths were torn and burned, wood had warped and splintered, and the walls and floors were cracked from fallen debris caused by the heat and impact of the nukes. Even the grand chandelier that once hung from the ceiling had shattered into the tiled ground. Death reclaimed its throne, and Venom became desolate once more. Fox bowed his head. All it took was an armada of atom bombs, and billions of lives… He clenched his rifle tight in his hands, looked up and kicked away the couch he had been standing behind, sending it sliding backwards a few feet. Fox thought of Krystal being stuck on this soul harvesting rock. _Well you aren’t going to take a single. Other. Soul!_ Grabbing the orb that he dropped so not to leave any trace of where he’d been, he took off down one of the hall ways in search of an emergency stairwell.

Fox scanned every corner and crevice he came across with his blasters flashlight for hidden threats, and took the time to stop and listen for activity every now and then. He didn’t have to search long, for he found the stairs not far from the buildings gold door elevators. The stairway door had a small window in it that allowed Fox to peer through and see what was on the other side. Not spotting anything, he opened the door, which sounded a slow, eerie creek as he opened it. He paused and listened once more. _Nothing._ He walked inside and glanced upwards. The stairwell was encased in darkness, even the backup lights that were supposed to come on when the power went down had burned out. Fox shined his flashlight up towards the top of the skyward tunnel. He was reminded of the building’s height when his rifles flashlight couldn’t shine all the way to the ceiling. Dust and debris particles floating in the air thickened the darkness even further. However from what he could tell, the stairs were well intact. _Here goes nothing._ Tucking his assault rifles butt tightly into his shoulder and keeping the barrel pointed downwards, Fox began climbing the stairs at a quick pace, but not fast enough to burn himself out midway up.

The climb only took a little over a couple minutes, but he finally reached the roof of the forty-five story structure. He stopped to catch his breath before bursting through the door that led to the outside. Fox felt as if he hadn’t run in months. _Blast this filtration mask!_ He spitefully thought as he puffed. Eventually his heart rate calmed, and he shoved open the door the led to the roof. Instantly dropping down on one knee, he brought his weapon’s sights to his eye and did a one-eighty scan of his view of the roof, then spun around to scan the other half of the roof behind him. Finding nothing, he lowered his rifle and did a thorough three-sixty surveillance of the roofs beyond the hotel, looking for any signs of movement. He keenly watched for around two minutes, then stood up and allowed himself to relax; dropping his rifle arm to his side. “Clear.” He murmured.

Something still didn’t seem right. Star Fox wrestled, and was probably still wrestling with too many fighters up above for no activity to be on the surface. _Doesn’t matter. What matters now is that I locate Krystal and get us both out of here._ He scanned the surrounding area again in search of any signs of a crash. He found one.

Smoke was fuming skyward from one spot deep in the city, about five miles from his position. From the color and thickness of the smoke, Fox could tell the cause was recent. The bad news was that the entire area between him and the crash site had been leveled by the bombs. Rubble from collapsed structures and trenches formed by ‘de-roofed’ subway tunnels overlay a circular seven mile radius created by just one of the thousands of nukes that scorched every inch of Venom. Fox focused his eyes on the smoke. If it was Krystal, it was either by luck or talent that she landed where she did. The ground at the center of blast radius had been reduced to dust with very little debris. The first signs of any remaining structures only stood two to three miles out. Fox only hoped she hadn’t plowed into a trench, which held the potential to tear her powered down, shield-less fighter to shreds. Fox was reminded of her telepathic call that had woken him from his own crash, a call that confirmed her survival. He also remembered that she could hear calls from others, even if they didn’t have telepathic abilities. Fox closed his eyes and focused. _Krystal…_ he started choking on his own thoughts. _What do I even say…? Nothing could repair the damage I’ve done…_ He cleared his head and tried again. _Krystal… I’m…_

_Fox…_

Fox’s eyes burst open. “Krystal!”

_Fox… They… they have me…_

At that moment a loud, thunderous roar rippled through the air; infecting Fox’s heart with a grim, blood chilling feeling.

Once the roar had faded, Krystal spoke again. _Crash site… hurry…_


	6. Chapter 7

It took everything Fox had to keep himself from sprinting his way to Krystal. With around three miles left to go until he reached her last known location, abusing his endurance would only slow his trek. He had to keep a steady pace to avoid stumbling to the ground and coughing up his own lungs; his ‘snout cover’ tempted him to do that enough already.

Fox figured he had been running for around eleven minutes since he left the hotel, he’d be to Krystal in another twenty. He was forced to take a break when he came across one of the exposed subway tunnels uncovered by the bombs. Warped, melted, and torn up steel based material from the once solid ceiling overlay roughly the entire bottom of the trench. In spite of this, Fox was able to depict six tracks running across the tunnel floor, with a civilian platform placed between every two pairs of rails. He estimated the trench to be nearly thirty feet deep, an eighth a mile wide, and the length of it ran out of sight on both sides of him. “No going around it.” He looked back down at the tunnel’s rugged ground. “Going across isn’t going to be any fun either.” Fox gritted his teeth. _Stop complaining and just do it!_

Taking one more look around for hostile activity, he set his rifle down and removed a coil of non-combustible rope he had wrapped around his right shoulder and lower left side. He had found it on the roof of the hotel he was at a couple miles back; the rope was left from a once attached swing stage scaffold. Regardless of its weight, Fox was glad he held on to it. It worked perfectly for rappelling down the side of the hotel, and now it would prove useful in getting down to the subway floor. Fox picked up his rifle, attached it to his back, and walked over to a street light near the subway tunnel. Rope in hand, he wrapped it around the light post so that the rope was divided into two even ends, which he threw over the side of the trench.

Suddenly he froze; then he dove behind a nearby hovercraft, got up one knee and peeked over the hood; scanning the area through the sights of his blaster. He wasn’t sure if it was keen hearing or paranoia, but something from behind him set both his ears and his instincts off. Fox stayed there for several minutes, his eyes constantly searching the ground, windows, and roofs of his surroundings for anything sketchy. Time continued to pass, and everything remained still. Finally deciding he’d been there too long he chose to keep moving, but he kept his ears trained hard for even the smallest noise.

Re-attaching his rifle to his back, he swiftly ran to the rope, gripped it with both hands and wrapped it around his body exactly as he had at the hotel: Over his right leg, under his left leg, across his middle and chest to his right shoulder, around the back of his neck and finishing with both ends in his left hand; which acted as his break hand. Fox picked up this emergency method himself. It allowed for a smooth, controlled descent with little hindrance from his gear, as well as a free hand to fire with on the way down if need be. Fox backed himself to the edge of the trench, and taking a moment to clear any loose debris that the line could send down after him, he began promptly bounding down the wall; reaching the bottom in seconds. Once on solid ground, Fox un-wrapped the rope from himself. Then pulling on one end, he freed the line from the pole above; simultaneously winding it up using his palm and elbow. Once done he removed his laser rifle from his back, slung the rope around his upper body same as before, and began to make his way along the metallic terrain of the subway floor.

To Fox, the term concrete jungle was starting to take a very literal sense. He ran along ground that was warped, twisted, and ragged, dodged pieces of track that stuck up left and right, dove through miniature tunnels formed from large pieces of the pre-existing ceiling, as well as maneuvered through and around severely damaged subway cars that lay all over the trench; it was towards one of these cars that Fox was headed. It had crashed itself vertically up against his destined side of the subway wall, making the perfect ladder. Clearing the rest of the obstacles, Fox arrived at the car and took a minute to catch his breath, clear the area, then pick out a safe climbing route up the car. He checked inside for the condition of the seats. A few were still intact, but most were torn from there place and tossed around cabin. “Windows it is.” He looked at their condition. Each one contained multiple shattered glass shards. _Glad I always wear my tactical gloves._ Fox lifted his left hand from his blaster and looked down at it with a smirk. _Fingerless as they are…_ Sliding his firearm onto his back, he cleared the first window of as much glass as possible and began to climb, clearing each anterior window of any shards as he went up. The car creaked and moaned, but it seemed to remain in place; until he reached its top.

Fox stood on the skyward end of the subway car, figuring how to clear the remaining six foot distance of the tunnel wall from his head up. He figured he could jump about three feet, and his arm could reach about one and a half, which left another one to one and a half feet for him to make. _I might make it with a running start…_ He thought eagerly. _Not much room TO run though…_ That’s when a loud shift of metal made its cry, and the car began to wobble beneath his feet. _Please Lylat, no!_ The steel box rocked from side to side, determining which direction to fall. _Looks like I’ve got no choice!_ Fox prepared himself as the large steel box finally chose to tower towards the east of itself. He tensed up, then exploded into a short dash towards its northwest corner. As he placed his foot’s final step onto the corner’s edge, Fox put everything he had into pushing his body off of the platform and up towards the edge of the trench.

Everything slowed. He felt the blood pulse from his heart as his hand came within inches of its goal. It was as if he was reaching for everything that mattered in his life: victory for Lylat, success for his team, justice for his father, safety for and love from Krystal. Then shock rippled through blood flow as Fox began to feel gravities pull; time came to a complete stop. _Everything I want, only an inch away from my fingers._ Shock became fear as motion began to resume and gravity’s pull increased. _Is this is it? Is this where I fail? To come so far only to die here?_ His distance from the edge began to increase. _No._

Fox thrust up his other hand, stretching it far enough to cover the remaining distance and grab onto the edge. _Got it!_ He hung off the cliff as he watch the subway car topple over to the ground with a booming crash, spitting up dust in a thick, spreading cloud which settled as quick as it all fell silent. Fox listened eerily for some form of reaction. _That crash was loud enough to hear for miles…_ He gripped the edge with his other hand and pulled himself up enough to see the terrain ahead of him. There were fewer buildings now, mostly all rubble. He observed the layout for a few more moments. _Still nothing._ His arms not allowing him to hang there any longer, he pulled himself the rest of the way up until he found himself standing on his destined side. _I made it._ He thought with a smile, realizing how close he came to accepting defeat. He began to feel a pinch of shame. _How can I save Krystal if I’m constantly afraid of failure…?_ He clenched his fists. _From now on I will fight for my desires to my last thought_. _I will not accept defeat. I will save her!_ Nevertheless, even with his newfound decision; Fox still couldn’t deny a hint of that ever burning question. _How long…?_

Fox looked down a diminished pathway to Krystal’s crash sight. Excitement rushed through him, it was only two miles until he reached it. He took off running, rifle in hand, hardly able to keep himself from a full on sprint. He did, however, keep an ever trained eye and ear actively on the lookout. He didn’t like how he was still alone.

 

…………………………………

 

‘Swords of light’ continued to rain from the cannons of the Cornerian battleships present on the battlefield, each blade hoping to pierce its intended target. ‘Daggers’ rained back from the enemy pilots, hoping to puncture any exposed vital organs on the couple steel beasts. Hardly anything could be made out anymore. Alongside the beams of light: Anglers, Aparoids, Venomians, Cornerians, and the Star Fox pilots had congregated into one area, making it difficult for both sides to distinguish who to shoot. The second wave of hostiles had also brought along surviving corrupt Cornerians from Dash’s army, adding to the risk of a friendly pilot getting shot down by their own side.

Inside his battleship, Admiral Shepherd aggressively paced back in forth in front of his targeting screen, pointing his knife hand at various soldiers and barking orders; fueled with fire from the stress. The same fire burned in the Star Fox team as well. They had kept to the outskirts of the firefight to help contain the situation and avoid death by confusion.

The admiral stumbled as his entire vessel shook from a trio of smart bombs that assaulted the upper hull. “I thought I ordered those mutts on artillery to not let another shot hit our ship!”

A young Beagle answered. “They’re at the top of their game sir, but the hostile Cornerians know our firing patterns. They know where to fly in order to steer clear of our cannon shots.”

Shepherd grabbed the hound by his shirt collar, yanking him over and scolding him with a low and sharp growl. “If I hear you call those scum, Cornerians, one more time, Lieutenant! Get this through your canine skull: those traitors are no better than the scaled bastards that crawl out of Venom’s crevices, and they shall be referred to as such!”

The Beagle’s eyes grew fearfully wide. “Sir, all Venomians will be dealt with, sir!”

The admiral grinned and released his grip. “Back to your station soldier.” The ship rocked again from another hit. “And _somebody_ keep those _damn_ fighters OFF OF US!!!”

Falco was currently being tailed by one of the Venomian dogs. The chase had went on for several minutes and Falco _still_ couldn’t shake him. _This is embarrassing!_ He thought hotly, dodging another squad of bullets from his pursuer.

“Remind me again why we train our military so well?” Lucy voiced into the team’s comm line, feeling similar frustration via constant failure to hit her target.

Amanda stayed in vicinity of the Great Fox II, attempting to protect it from incoming fire. “I don’t know about _our_ military, but these Venomian pups certainly know what _they’re_ doin!” She said out loud.

“I heard that missy!” Shepherd snapped.

“You may call me ma’am, Admiral.” Amanda sassed. _Forgot we opened our radio channel…_

“Amanda, _please_ don’t piss off the admiral.” Slippy piped in.

“Baby, _please_ stay out of this. Just keep doing a wonderful job of operating the Great Fox, m’kay?”

Her threateningly cheerful tone made him change subjects. “Ya, well she’s almost out of energy. R.O.B and I don’t have long till I’m gonna have to withdraw and let her cool down and recharge. Plus she’s taken a lot of hits, not to mention I only have two missiles left.”

“Bucket of bolts.” Falco teased.

“She’s NOT a BUCKET of BOLTS!” Slippy hollered.

“First Great Fox never had that problem.”

Shepherd interrupted. “For the sake of the universe, shut the hell up! How the hell have you all survived this long?!”

“Beats me.” Falco replied, finally gaining the advantage over his follower and filling the arwing with holes.

“I’m pulling back. Too dangerous to stay any longer.” Slippy whimpered.

“You said other reinforcements were en-route. Any idea when that’ll be, Admiral?!” Amanda jabbed.

“I can call in a couple more battleships, but if another wave shows, Corneria will initiate a last resort response.”

“Another nuclear cleansing?” Falco amusedly asked.

Lucy instantly interrupted. “That can’t happen! Fox is still down there!”

“WHAT?!” Falco yelled.

“It’s not a nuclear cleansing. All that does is purge the surface.” His voice became very grim. “Next step is an invasion.”

“Fox flew down to VENOM?!” Falco yelled again.

“Invasion?” Lucy asked.

“We would go in and personally clear the planet down to its core. Something the military desperately wants to avoid.” Shepherd’s voice grew quiet. “Something I desperately want to avoid…”

“Would SOMEONE tell me WHAT happened to Fox?!” Falco yelled furiously.

“NOT NOW FALCO!” Lucy snapped back; Falco shut his beak with pure shock at Lucy’s explosion. She spoke again to the shepherd. “Corneria has that kind of power?”

“Yes and no. The cost of it would decimate our economy, and the potential amount of lives lost would be unspeakable. We have no _idea_ what we’d find down there…”

“I certainly know the government’s reason for holdin back.” Falco mocked.

“I should shoot you for your disrespect, mercenary.” Shepherd growled.

“Just sayin it like it is.” Falco shrugged.

“You and Amanda are _both_ under arrest when this is over!” He barked, instantly recomposing himself afterwards. “Speaking as admiral of this space fleet, _I_ don’t want to see thousands of lives lost to an invasion of that scale.” The admiral fell silent, then spoke again with a determined tone. “We will hold the line. We _will_ stop this here.”

“You know how many times I’ve heard people say that?” Falco prodded.

Shepherd looked over his shoulder. “Lieutenant?”

The Beagle spun around. “Yes sir?!”

“Shoot the bird.”

 

…………………………………………

 

Fox could hardly contain himself. “One mile, only one mile! Heck, less than a mile!” He huffed out. The cloud of trailing smoke that kept growing closer only made Fox run faster, pushing himself beyond his limits; he no longer cared about his lungs or legs. His heart jumped when the body of the arwing came into sight. _I’m here Krystal, can you hear me?_ Seconds passed with no response. _Krystal, please tell me you’re alright?!_ Only silence responded. Fox thought of her last words. ‘ _Fox… They… they have me…_ ’ Under half a mile out, he slowed himself to a walk, then stood still. ‘ _They have me._ ’He repeated. “They…” Fox whispered.He dropped and rolled to a large, nearby piece of rubble; watching and listening for nearby hostiles. _How could I have been so stupid?! I was about to sprint right into a possible hotspot!_ There wasn’t much around him to act as concealment with what Fox guessed to be around fifty buildings total that could be considered ‘still standing’ in the one mile radius. That’s what worried him. _There should be more activity here…_

His entire trek had gone unchallenged, however there was no time to clear every single edifice he came across. All he could do was rigorously sweep the area with his eyes as he ran, keeping as close to large objects as possible should they become needed. Fox began to dash his way to each available cover ahead of him, cautiously growing closer to her fighter. With few building corners to hide behind, demolished hover crafts and large steel based debris were his main guardians. He had just begun to run from a piece of debris to one of the surviving structures when a strong sense of peril came over him. _Something’s not right!_

A split second whistle followed by a sharp sting in the back of his neck confirmed his feeling. Fox hurled himself into the side of a nearby street barricade and quickly pulled a short, thin object from where he felt the hit, bringing it into his eyesight. _A dart!_ Suddenly he was overcome with dizziness. He knew what happened, he had just been tranquilized.

Fox realized there was only one way he had a chance at staying conscious and had less than five seconds to act on it; he needed ten. _Let’s by myself some time!_ Without hesitation, Fox pulled his tactical knife from his vest, raised it up, and brought it down right into the center of his foot. He yowled at the pain but kept himself focused; using the time his sensory nerves gave him to dig into his medical pack and pull out an adrenaline shot. Fox quickly threw the rope off his body and unzipped his vest, coat, and flight suit. Then he removed the needle’s plastic cover and aimed the shot at the left side of his bare chest. With a quick prayer to the powers above him, he shoved it into his skin, between his ribs, and straight into his heart; pressing down on the injector before the shock rendered him helpless. He gasped at the brief, crushing sensation his heart emitted, but immediately felt his head clear up as the injected fluid spread through his body. He conquered the final sting as he pulled the needle out, tossed it, and took a moment to regain control. He was panting heavily, he could feel his blood rush through his entire being, his heart racing to keep it going. Fox’s head flipped through a countless amount of thoughts per second, but stopped when it came to a certain one. _Who shot me?!_

Fox removed the blade from his foot. The blood and pain could be perceived, but the rush of adrenaline was dominant. Returning the knife to its holster and zipping up his garments, he looked at his rifle as it lay on the ground; the sight created a vengeance in him. Picking it up, Fox lay flat on the ground, crawled to the edge of the barricade that was his shelter, and peeked around it; taking in a mental overview of the area the shot came from. He left his head out only for a moment before withdrawing it, hoping to avoid a second shot, but what he saw forcefully drew him to take a second look. Standing openly on the roof of a five story building barely under an eighth of a mile from him was a tall, black, burly figure with what Fox assumed to be a sniper rifle resting in his hands. Two large, red eye-ports seemed to burn profusely from his mask. The beast stood perfectly still, clearly unafraid of being spotted.

Neither warriors moved. Both stayed where they were, focused on each other with an unbreakable glare. Fox decided to speak, shouting loud enough to be heard.

“I don’t know who you are, or why you attempted to sedate me. I think your goal isn’t to kill. I also think that either you, or others that you’re associated with, are the ones who took who I’m looking for from the fighter ahead of me. I’d rather work something out, but know this: I will do whatever I have to, to get her back. This is your warning.”

The beast remained still, holding the expressionless stare that his mask gave. Fox watched as the being’s shoulders began to pulsate, hearing the slight sound of menacing laughter echo through the air. The creature then tensed up, and followed up his laugh with a sudden bone chilling roar; the same roar that Fox heard on the hotel roof five miles back. The sound was nearly deafening. Fox’s brain burned from the mix of noise and adrenaline. Once refocused on the weighty figure, Fox ducked behind his cover at the sight of the beast raising his rifle to take aim. A shot fired off and Fox could hear the bullet travel into the barrier and stop somewhere deep inside. The entire block rung from the hit. _Guess I have your answer. I gotta move!_ Fox looked towards a severely warped glass entrance near the building which the beast stood upon. _He doesn’t want to kill me, but another tranq’ and it’s over…_ He took out the two flash grenades his vest carried, and shot up a prayer. _Go!_

Fox burst from his shelter in a mad dash toward his destination, counting to two as he ran. Once two was reached, he threw the first flash bang straight up in the air. It went off with an ear-splitting bang. After six more seconds past, Fox threw up the second; preparing his ears for another painful round of ringing. Once dispensed, he gave it everything he had to make the final hundred feet he had to go. He counted another six seconds, then leapt into a role towards his hunter; just missing a third shot. Fox could tell it was another dart due to the quiet, high pitched whistle that trailed behind it. He got back to his feet and kept running towards the door. _Ten feet, dive!_ Fox dove into the door, smashing through the remaining glass and rolling to his feet; paying little attention to the thousands of shards that spread across the floor. The room in which he stood was so deformed he couldn’t discern what it had been before; he ceased trying and searched out a way to the roof. He found a set of stairs with just enough skeletal remains to make it to, at least, the second floor. He began his ascent, keeping his eyes, ears, and rifle trained for his attacker.

The stairs took him to the third floor, with as little as a gap or two to be hopped over, until it cut off from the nuclear damage. Fox searched out another way, spotting an emergency ladder clinging to the building’s exterior right outside the floor’s windows. After checking the roofs above for the predator in waiting, Fox tested the ladder by yanking on it with all his might. Receiving little more than mere wobbling, Fox slid his rifle onto his back and began his climb to the fourth, then fifth floor. Within arm’s reach of one of the fifth floor windows, the top end of the ladder abruptly gave and peeled loose from the building; leaving Fox hanging in mid-air. _Damn it!_ Looking up, Fox saw the beast peek over the roofs edge and take aim. Simultaneously, Fox went for his pistol with his right hand and began desperately firing off suppressing shots. Fox emerged victorious, not sure whether to thank his quick draw that he gained from his days as a ranch kid, or hesitation from the beast. Either way, the being withdrew.

Fox re-sheathed his pistol and quickly began to sway himself from side to side in order to gain enough momentum to make it to the windows above. Bringing his right hand to the left side of the ladder, he timed the removal of his left hand, swung up towards the window, and propelled his left hand forward to grasp the sill. His palms met the structure and he quickly pulled himself back into the building. Once standing, he scanned the fifth floor for his enemy. He heard footsteps on the roof. _He’s waiting for me._ Fox knew it was suicide to attempt to go up to him. _Guess I’ll have to bring him to me!_ Fox stepped out of the room into a nearby hallway. Once there he pulled a smart bomb from his vest. _Time to raise the roof._ He thought with a short smile, tossing the bomb in his hand like a baseball _. And what goes up must come down._

Without warning, a booming blast sounded off and several pieces of debris were rammed into Fox’s upper body before he even could process the sound. The force of the rubble’s impact knocked him into the wall behind him; Fox fell to the floor and his whole body went numb. He began to cough from the oxygen that had been forced from his lungs, gasping to get it back. _What… what the… what ha… happened…_ Fox opened his eyes and tried to revive himself from the unfeeling blackness his conscious side was attempting to slip into. He vision was blurred, but he had no issue seeing the black figure walking down a large mound of debris towards where he lay.

Fear sparked in his heart again. _Who... who are you…?_ The creature drew closer. _What do you… you want?_ The beast stopped and observed him from a three foot distance. _What… did you do with… Krystal?_ His spark ignited into a furnace of rage. _You… you know where she is!_ Fox looked the being in his mask’s demonic red eyes. _You are going to tell me… Where. She. Is!_ The remaining adrenaline kicked back in. Fox was filled with energy and began working his way to his feet, feeling his numbness turn into the pain it hid from the rubble and the wall that had assaulted his body. Fox ignored it, but then found himself partially buried in debris when he attempted to budge a second time. He looked up at the beast; it hadn’t moved. Just stood their continuously watching.

 _That’s it!_ Fox shoved his arms and chest forward and forcefully sprung himself to his feet, using the momentum to toss himself into the predator, striving to tackle him to the ground. Fox succeeded in sliding the beast back a couple yards, but the creature found his traction and brought the two to a halt with his might, shoving Fox off of him then landing a wood-splitting forward kick right into his abdomen. Fox curled over and fell to his knees, fighting to keep the contents of his stomach inside his body, fighting for air he could never seem to retain, fighting to stay conscious for Krystal’s sake. No further blows came. The creature had merely tossed it’s sniper off to the side, and once again stood still and observant; the scarlet red eyes burning into Fox’s very soul. Once Fox had found his breath again, he struggled to his feet and met his opponent face to face. The beast still didn’t stir.

Fox furrowed his brow, speaking through gritted teeth. “Where is she?!”

“Safe.” The beast responded in a deep, base filled growl. The second after speaking, he threw a right hook towards Fox’s face. Fox managed to duck under the strike, but was met afterwards with a knee to his jaw then a spin kick to the chest. Fox fell to his back, knocked rearward to where he had started. Fox forced himself up and assumed a fighting stance; anger suppressing his body’s agony. _This guy’s fast!_ Fox had picked up a few fighting techniques throughout his life that served him well in bar fights and disputes with Falco, but as a pilot he was rarely _ever_ fighting battles involving hand to hand combat. His opponent on the other hand, knew _exactly_ what he was doing. _Never stopped me before!_

The beast began walking towards where Fox stood.

Fox spoke again. “You’re going to tell me where she is!”

The creature started to chuckle as he walked. “I’ll do better than that, young Fox.”

As the distance closed, Fox saw an opportunity and feigned a left punch at his opponents face, then threw a charged strike at his stomach with his right fist.

The creature caught both attacks with his hands. “I’m going to bring you to her.” The predator retaliated by thrusting his forehead into Fox’s skull. Fox staggered away and the being followed up by charging into him and smashing him up against the same corridor wall he had been tossed into before, and with a force that was comparable. Fox found himself once more on his knees only to be thrown further down the hallway via a powerful kick to his left cheek. He landed on his side and slid to a halt, blood trickled from his mouth and onto the floor; he was already feeling completely broken. _Gotta… keep… fighting…_ Fox rolled onto his front and started to push himself up with his forearms, collapsing back to the ground as he found no strength to take from. _Come on! Get up!_ He tried again, slowly gaining success. He could hear the footsteps of his coming adversary. _Not this time!_

Fox waited until the footsteps drew closer, then he pushed himself backwards into a rear kick, landing it right into the beasts face. Fox’s desperation gave the kick strength, and he didn’t give his enemy any time to reciprocate. Standing back up, he drove a right punch straight into the creature’s abdomen, and brought his left knee up into the creature’s face as it curled over. Fox’s opponent stumbled back, and Fox went to deliver a low round house kick to his left side. The beast caught it and went to drive his elbow into the leg’s knee for a finishing blow. Fox loosened his muscles and rotated himself towards the ground so the back of his knee received the brunt of the force. Shaking his leg free, Fox swept his other leg into his adversary’s ankles, sending him crashing to the floor.

Both animals got to their feet and went at each other again. Fox slowly began to adapt to the creatures fighting style, but it allowed him little more than landing a few more hits throughout the skirmish. Most of his attacks where countered by bone numbing blows from his opponents fists, elbows, knees, legs, and feet. Another elbow to Fox’s middle, followed by an uppercut to his chin landed him back on the ground. He was bleeding from both his mouth and his nose now, as well as several cuts he had received from the fight; his body also burned with soreness from countless bruises. Fox began mouthing his thoughts. _Gotta… keep… fighting…_

“You’re beginning to disappoint me, McCloud.” The predator growled, towering over him with a sense of power that Fox was failing to overcome.

“I… I won’t… let you take her!” Fox coughed out. He forced himself to sit up, roll onto his feet, and launch another punch at the beast’s abdomen. His adversary caught the fatigued attack, pulled him in by it and thrust a fist straight into Fox’s stomach.

That did it, Fox couldn’t hold it back any longer. He released a violent, uncontrolled flow of vomit into his mask. His coughing worsened and he began to choke on his barf. Unexpectedly, he felt the mask fall from his face, to which the vomit followed suit. _He undid the securing strap!_ The creature released him and Fox collapsed to the ground, his face splashing in the puddle of puke. He coughed up the remaining glop that rested in his throat and began to dry heave, not giving any further thought to the heavily toxic air he was now breathing. The burn in his lungs from the nuclear exposure and the smell of vomit that filled his nostrils were nothing compared to what his body was undergoing.

“You should thank me for that.” His adversary scoffed.

“Right… _(Cough)_ after… _(Cough)_ I _kill_ … _(Cough)_ _you_!” Fox spat back. He could feel his rage boiling inside him again. Strength gloriously found him, and he began to work his way to his feet, ignoring the blood and vomit that slid off of him.

“Enough.” The beast stated loudly. As Fox stood up and refaced his opponent, he felt five blades pierce into his chest as he was shoved up against another wall. He looked down to see the creature’s left hand as the culprit, and the blades were claws. Fox cried out in torment as the predator slid him up the wall, driving his talons deeper into Fox’s skin. Fox went to draw his knife but was stopped by the beast’s free hand.

            Fox mustered a grin in spite of the sharp sting in his chest. “Kitty made a bad move.” With both of the beast’s hands occupied, Fox drew his pistol and shot the cat twice in the upper left leg. The burly feline yowled in pain, releasing Fox and falling to the knee of the injured leg; grasping it with both hands.

            Fox landed on the floor and staggered backwards until he found his balance; grasping his own chest while aiming his pistol right at the creatures head. “Now, you’re going…” Fox erupted into a fit of mad coughing, however he pulled himself together and resumed his order. “You’re going to tell… tell me what you’ve done with Krystal.” Fox took another shot at the cat’s shoulder, to which the hunter shrieked and fell over on his side; blood poured from all three wounds. “Or I’ll just keep shooting you in… _(Cough)_ non-lethal areas until… you bleed out. Take… _(Cough)_ your pick.”

            The beast uttered what sounded like a laugh/growl hybrid. “Never before has an opponent outsmarted me in a sparring match, refrained from going under from a tranquilizer dart, and found a way to evade my shots all in one battle. I must say, McCloud, you are truly a worthy opponent. I look forward to adding your mark to my Angel.”

            _My Angel?_ Fox pondered. “I could tell… tell from the start… _(Cough)_ you aren’t a good listener.” he fired off another round into the cat’s foot.

            The creature hissed.

            “Tell me where she is!” Fox was yelling now, his urge to cough dissipated.

            “I told you, young Fox, I will take you to her.”

            “I get the feeling your travelling conditions aren’t very accommodating.”

            “You speak as if you have a choice. You think you’ve won this fight?” The burly feline released another menacing chuckle.

            Fox’s nerves stood on end, he knew that didn’t mean anything good. He aimed and fired at the hunter’s shin. “WHERE IS KRYSTAL?!!!” He screamed.

            The cat hardly flinched at the assault. “Worry not, you’ll be meeting her in moments.”

            Fox became furious and prepared to take another shot, when all of a sudden his chest burned and his entire body became weak. His head spun, his stomach twisted, and his hands began to shake. The vibrating increased until he could no longer hold onto the pistol.

            The cat stood up with little effort and watched the ailing Fox; blood still spewed from the now five wounds. “Good night Fox.”

            Fox shook his head, he could’ve sworn that was Krystal’s voice. “What in… what did… what have you done to me?!” He began stumbling around, reaching out for support but falling right through whatever object he thought was there; his nauseous state was causing him to hallucinate. He had landed in a crumpled up position. Laughter and screams from Krystal, his parents, and his team filled his ears. “Peppy?! Lucy?! KRYSTAL?! Where… where are you?! Please… let me… no… no it’s, it’s not real!” The room went up in a turbulent flame, and the building began to crumble all around him. Through it all, Fox noticed the tall dark figure still standing over him, the masks blood red eyes now blazing with fire. The beast raised up what Fox fearfully perceived to be a large axe, and the last thing he saw was it coming down on his head. Before giving in to darkness, Krystal’s voice echoed in his ears one more time: “Sweet dreams.”

 

…………………………………..

 

            The lion watched with pleasure as the fox dropped his pistol and began to tremble fiercely. The wounds the lion sustained no longer phased him; he had completely shut them out. He rose to his feet and spoke to his opponent. “Good night Fox.”

            The fox shook his head. “What in… what did… what have you done to me?!”

            The lion turned away and walked to where he had thrown his sniper rifle, hearing the sound of the fox fall to the floor with an ungraceful thud. The lion smiled, looking down at his claws that shined from their coating. “None survive the prick of the toxin.”

            He refocused when he heard the fox cry out a string of strange words. “Peppy?! Lucy?! KRYSTAL?!

            _Krystal._ The lion grinned, ignoring the rest of the fox’s sentence. “The time is coming McCloud. You will see her, and her _true_ captor, soon enough.”

            He walked back over to the quivering fox, who now lay in a pitiable ball on the floor. His terror stricken eyes looked up at the lion once he had approached.

            The lion took a final look at the fox, then raised the butt of his rifle up, and brought it down on the head of his prey. The fox lay unconscious, and the lion uttered two final words: “Sweet dreams.”


	7. Chapter 8

            “I’ve seen desperate, but this is madness.” Shepherd growled as he stared at his targeting map with his fists clenched.

Lucy and Amanda flew around one of the Cornerian battle ships in pursuit of three Venomians; two of them dog pilots. “Varmints won’t take a hint!” Amanda stated.

“They should’ve retreated twenty minutes ago, they’re nearing total extermination.”

            “And this is upsetting you, how?” Lucy asked. _Aren’t we winning?_

“They’re fighting for nothing at this point. Another word for it would be suicide.”

            “Good.” Falco snickered, diving down towards an unsuspecting Aparoid. “I don’t object to wiping every one of their sorry asses from existence.” He ended his sentence right as his laser blasts burned through his target, triggering its explosion.

            _I’m going to enjoy putting that bird in a cage._ Shepherd thought. “Why would they stay if they knew that defeat was inevitable?”

            “Of all people, Admiral, I thought you would know the meaning of the phrase, ‘fight till the last breath.’” Amanda said, successfully destroying two of the three fighters Lucy and her were pursuing.

            Shepherd shook his head. “This attack was too coordinated. They drew us out by attacking our patrol convoy, held us back with a brigade hidden along our avenue of approach, and once we finally arrived, they had an entire division ready for us; of which they filled with the surviving traitors who would know our tactics.”

            “Your point being?” Lucy asked, taking out the survivor of the trio.

            “This is still part of their plan.” Shepherd said with apprehension. “They’re holding out for time.”

            “To do what?” Falco asked annoyed.

            Shepherd took a tense pause. “I don’t know.”

            “Ya know, I don’t get you. Not long ago you were in a panic because you weren’t sure if we could hold them off. Congratulations, you are about to sweep up the crumbs of that armada; and now you’re telling us that you’re scared because they ain’t runnin?! And another thing that’s botherin me: Where! The fuck! Is FOX?!”

            Lucy exhaled in frustration. “He’s on VENOM!”

            _Bitch, I know that!_ Falco screamed in his head as he descended onto another helpless hostile, lighting it up and sending it out in flames. “WHY?! HOW?! There’s more to that freaking story!”

            “He went after Krystal!”

            “She’s down there too?! How in the fuck did all this happen?!”

            Amanda furiously interrupted the conversation. “You drop that bomb one more time Falco, and I’m going to CLAMP your BEAK on your TONGUE!”

            Falco yelled as loud as he could inside his cockpit, slammed his fists on his control wheel, then came to a complete stop; deeply and rapidly breathing in and out. “You know what?! I don’t even care! He’d just better get his fu-”

            “FALCO!” Amanda sternly hollered.

            “Fine! _Furry_ tail up here before I hunt it down and tear it off!”

            “SHUT! UP!” Shepherd barked. Everyone fell silent. “I don’t know the situation with your leader either, but there’s nothing we can do for him! He might be dead anyway!” Shepherd stopped himself, took a slow and prolonged breath, then began again. “I’m sorry for your loss, but right now we need to stay focused or else we’re gonna wind up dead.”  

            “What? From the minus thirty pilots we have left to handle?” Falco jabbed, locking on to a group of four Venomians and one Angler.

            Shepherd turned to ignoring Falco’s wise cracks. “I’m calling in the extra battleships to remain prepared for the worst. Let’s hope whatever time these ‘suicidal survivors’ need is longer than what it takes for our reinforcements to arrive.”

            Falco commented on how he remembered when Admiral Shepherd was considered the reinforcements, which Shepherd once again ignored. Amanda called in to Slippy to ask how the weapons recharge and internal repairs were coming, as well as make sure her husband was alright.

            “R.O.B.’s a fast worker, were coming along fine. Weapons are at fifty percent. It’s still going to be a bit till we’re fully mission capable.” Slippy answered.

            “ETA FORTY-FIVE MINUTES UNTIL URGENT REPAIRS ARE COMPLETE. BE ADVISED, ONLY TWO MISSILES ON STANDBYE. SUGGEST LASER CANNON AS MAIN METHOD OF ATTACK.”

            “That too. And I’m still rockin’, my lovely water lily.” Slippy blushed.

            Meanwhile, Lucy had all but faded from the conversation. Her brain repetitively mused over Shepherd’s input on Fox’s fate. _‘He might be dead anyway!’…_ She pulled her fighter away from the conflict and took a quick flight over planet Venom, gazing down into its misty atmosphere as she passed, searching for someone she feared may not return. _Please be alright Fox._ She quietly pleaded. _Please… come back to us._

 

…………………………………………………..

 

            _Krystal… where… where am I?_ Fox awoke slowly to find himself in darkness. He had to blink a few times to make sure his eyes where open. _I’d better not be blind!_ He tried to move but found his arms and legs to be strapped to something. He focused on his body’s current posture and realized he was sitting in some sort of chair made of a cool, solid material. Fox began to jerk his arms and legs up, down, forward, backward, and side to side as violently as possible in hopes to break or slip free of his binds. After about ten seconds of no results he forced himself to stop. _All right Fox, let’s not panic here. Let’s just sit and listen._ After a moment of silence, he heard the quiet, placid inhale, and the powerful, vociferous exhale of something breathing directly behind him. Fox knew what it was the instant it spoke.

            “You might want to shut your eyes.” The beast said.

            Immediately after the warning was given, Fox was blinded by the bright, white light that lit up the room he was in. He regretted his curiosity’s inability to listen as he painfully clamped his eyelids shut as tight as possible. What made it worse was that the room was made of a pure white material which only intensified the light’s glare. After a long, painful adjust Fox could finally open his eyes and make out the features of the room: there were none. No windows, no desks, no tables, and no chairs other than the one Fox was bound to by metal cuffs. The burly feline spoke again as he circled around into Fox’s view.

            “You passed out from a hallucinogenic sedative that I keep freshly painted on my claws. The toxin was derived from a plant that naturally produces the sedative as a gas; a plant that can only be found on a flourishing Venom.” The beast chuckled. “Since your government has destroyed everything here, I am the only one in possession of this toxin. I’m glad I grabbed what I did, when I did.”

            “Where is Krystal?!” Fox interjected.

            “On her way.” The cat calmly answered.

            “How long till I see her?!”

            “Soon McCloud, very soon.”

            “I’m fed up with that answer!”

            The creature stood still, then reached up and removed his own mask, revealing the face of a lion with a well groomed mane kept in a pony-tail which was well tucked into the back of his exosuit. Three distinct, parallel scars traced the left side of his face from his upper temple, across his eye socket, and to the end of his snout. His eyes were a sky blue color that rivaled the blood red eyes of his mask. He leaned forward until his broad, chiseled, weather-beaten face was an inch away from Fox’s, and spoke with a humorless countenance. “I don’t care.”

            Fox didn’t retaliate, just returned the glare with his own. Not a muscle on either competitor twitched. The two continued to silently hold their ground, until the lion stood straight again.

            “You really are an animal worthy of respect. Tell me, young Fox, the fact that I’m a feline doesn’t surprise you. You called me ‘kitty’ when I had you up against the wall during our skirmish. How did you know?”

            Fox remained silent as his eyes stayed locked on his questioner.

            The lion offered a grunt of disapproval. “One has to give respect to get it. I only show my face to those who have pleased me during the hunt; who have satisfied my longing for a challenge. You aren’t the best at weaponless combat, however your fighting spirit kept you going longer than I had expected.” The beast paused, looking for a reaction from Fox. Finding nothing, he continued. “And you outsmarted me; it was too late, but you outsmarted me none the less. Let’s not forget your quick thinking to counteract my tranquilizing attempt. Of all I have sedated, few have showed the will to do what was necessary to survive. You are one of them.” The creature paused again, searching for any change of expression from his audience, but Fox still maintained his stony stare. “Lastly, I admire your timing and use of resources in order to dodge my further sniper fire. You have earned your place on my Angel.”

Curiosity flashed across Fox’s face. _There it is again, ‘my Angel’. What is it with you cats and referring to things romantically? Who or what are YOU referring too?_

The cat noted Fox’s grain of interest. “Now McCloud, I have treated you with respect. It would be wise of you to do the same.”

            Fox stayed silent a moment longer, then released a breath of surrender out his nose. “Educated guess. The structure of your mask, your claws and their length, the power and speed with which you strike; what doesn’t make sense is your missing tail.”

            The right portion of the feline’s mouth curved into a smile. “A sacrifice one must make to rid himself of a disadvantage in combat.”

            Fox cringed inside. “No loss of balance?”

            “One learns to work without it.”

            “What is the point of this?”

            “The point of what, young Fox?”

            “This information session. You’ve shared more than you’ve asked of me. What are you gaining from this?”

            The beast’s smile grew. “Nothing. This is merely how I show my respect to prey who are worthy.” The beast circled back around till he was out of Fox’s view. “You should count yourself lucky I had orders to bring you in alive.” He leaned in close to Fox’s left ear and spoke in a frosty whisper. “Most of my quarry are _dead_ when I do this.”

            A quick shiver ran down Fox’s spine. He felt the lion slowly step away from him. “Then you’ll answer me one more question. Who or what is your ‘Angel’?”

            The room instantly grew quiet. “That is something only I will ever know. Her identity belongs to me, and me alone.” With that the once blinding lights disappeared and total darkness returned. “My time is up”

            Fox heard a door behind him electronically slide open.

            The burly feline spoke again. “It’s their turn to speak with you.”

            _They??_ Fox asked as his heart rate began to rise.

            Once the predator’s voice dissipated, Fox heard something being steadily wheeled around to the front of him, as well as a pair of footsteps that leisurely followed it. The floor sounded off each eerie step of the walker as well as the set of wheels that rolled along the ground. Both the object and its driver came to a halt a few feet from the anterior side of Fox, who could hear his own heart race over the suspenseful, agonizing silence.

            Suddenly the lights returned and Fox had to once again slam his eyes shut and fight the blindness. Once his vision cleared, he found himself finally face to face with the one he’d been searching for.

            “Krystal!”

            The sight of her condition broke Fox’s heart. She was in a wheel chair with her right arm strapped to the arm rest and the left arm strapped straight down the side of the chair; she was barely conscious. Her face sustained minor cuts and bruises and her bodysuit displayed a handful of tears along the upper body portion. Fox felt relief that she didn’t appear any worse, but his mind gave birth to confusion, and his heart to wrath, when he laid eyes on the one who stood behind her; so much so that his mouth couldn’t vocalize a single word.

            Dash Bowman gave a vile grin at Fox’s outraged silence. “Hello Mr. McCloud. Your biggest fan has missed you.”

            Words still failed to form. Fox’s entire being shouted that Dash should be dead, but all these years something inside of him already knew the possibility of the latter. He looked back at Krystal and asked the only thing he could at the time.

            “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER?!” He shouted, looking back at Dash.

            “Hush, hush, Mr. McCloud! That’s no way to wake the lady. She needs to be slowly and peacefully aroused from her slumber.” Bowman leaned down and put his mouth next to Krystal’s left ear, reaching around and lifting her chin with his right hand.

            Fox lunged forward in his chair. “No, no don’t you touch her! DON’T YOU TOUCH HER!”

            Dash looked past Fox and nodded. Suddenly Fox was gagged with a piece of cloth. The more he fought it, the tighter it got.

            Dash’s villainous smile grew even larger. “That’s better.” He repositioned his mouth near Krystal’s ear and whispered, “Krystal dear, rise and shine. A guest has come to see you.”

            Krystal’s eyes fluttered open as she struggled to fix them on what was ahead of her. “F...Fox…?”

            Dash released her chin which dropped back down towards her chest. “Worry not Fox, we didn’t harm her. It was actually quite the opposite; I lost one of my men because of her. She’s become capable of something rather… horrific! It’s why we finally had to sedate her.”

            Fox glanced at Krystal and smiled a little at the thought of her retaliation, but his mind cogitated on what she did that Dash considered ‘horrific’.

            “No matter! Time is _very_ short. All the cards have fallen into my hand as I had planned, AND it seems I’ve been blessed with more.” Dash said as he stroked a side of Krystal’s face with his tail. Krystal’s head shot up and snapped at it with her mouth. Bowman pulled it away right in the nick of time, jumping back towards one of the walls. “Ha haha! See what I mean, Mr. McCloud?! She’s a feisty one!”

            Krystal focused on Dash, every muscle in her face voiced nothing but a wish of death for the primate. “Why don’t you start pounding your head on the floor until your brains spill out the front of your _skull_!”

            Bowman’s smile slowly faded as he closed his eyes and scrunched up his brow. He brought his hand to his temple as his forehead began to sweat. The side of his mouth began to quiver as if he were struggling. “You… you are… _very_ powerful… indeed.”

            Fox wasn’t sure of what he was witnessing. Krystal’s murderous eyes remained locked onto Dash, who seemed to be headed towards a mental breakdown.

            Dash’s legs began to shake, but then he opened his eyes and seemed at peace again; his menacing grin reclaimed its grounds. “But so am I.” Dash walked over to her and leaned back down, keeping just enough distance in case she decided to snap at him again. “I have even further plans for you when this is all over.” He maliciously whispered.

            Fox couldn’t take it anymore, he thrust forward in his chair again and forced his next statement out as best as he could through his gag cloth. “LEAVE HER ALONE!”

            Dash looked over at Fox. “Oh that’s right! You’re here too!” Dash looked past Fox, nodded again, and the gag was removed.

            “How did you survive?!” Fox hollered.

            Bowman dashed over to Fox’s chair and slammed his hands onto Fox’s forearms, grasping them tightly with a look of wicked merriment an inch away from Fox’s face. “There’s so much I want to tell you! My survival story, the years of building and formulating, my plot to get you here, my luck of HER getting here!” He pointed back at Krystal whose hostile countenance now held a hint of worry. “But alas, time IS short. Your _team_ and the _two_ battleships that arrived to help have done a _wonderful_ job at depleting my soldiers faster than I had expected.” He said loathingly.

            _Reinforcements must have showed._ Fox thought cheerfully at the word of Star Fox being alright, yet he feared Dash’s last statement. “Faster than expected?” Fox reiterated.

            Dash’s sinister smile was joined by a dark, solemn tone. “Everything that has happened, and everything that is happening, is going according to my plan. Venom will rise again.” Dash backed away from Fox and stood up straight again. “And you’re going to help us.”

            The demand sent memories of every painful thing that Andross, Oikonny, Dash, and the planet Venom itself had ever put him through rushing through Fox. Every person that had been taken from him: his mother, his father, the trillions of innocent lives; they all came back in an instant. Fox flexed his expression into one of pure hatred aimed at Bowman. “Never.”

            Bowman responded with a loud clap. “I knew you’d say that!” He said cheerfully, and without giving Fox as much time as to have a second thought, he spun around and threw a fist into the side of Krystal’s snout. Krystal’s body leaned over the side of her wheel chair, stunned by the shock of the blow.

            “YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!” Fox screamed.

            “Want to rethink your decision, Fox?!” Dash proudly asked.

            Fox didn’t even hear Bowman as he looked over at Krystal, who now had blood dripping from her mouth. “Krystal?! Krystal, look at me, look at me; stay with me!”

            “WELL FOX?!”

            Fox threw himself back at Dash. “DON’T YOU LAY ANOTHER HAND ON HER!!!”

            “Fine then!” Dash pulled out a knife he had strapped to the side of the belt of his green dress uniform and slashed upward along the ground ward side of Krystal’s face, awakening her from her dazed state. Blood oozed from the wound as she sat up and cried out in suffering. Dash started to whirl himself around her wheel chair. “See? No hands!”

            Tears jerked at Fox’s eyes now. “YOU FUCKING BASTARD! JUST LEAVE HER OUT OF THIS!!!”

            Bowman stopped spinning and reached out his hand in request for something from the being standing behind Fox. “Then do what I ask!” Bowman appeared frustrated and had to signal again for what he wanted. Afterwards a pistol was tossed into his hand, which he took and aimed down at the shoulder of Krystal’s arm that was tied vertically along the side of the wheelchair. “And her suffering will end!”

            Fox’s heart stopped. “ALRIGHT!!!”

            Dash ceased right as he was about to pull the trigger, looking at Fox out of the corner of his eye.

            “I’ll help you… I’ll help you do whatever you want…” Fox hung his head in surrender, staring at the drops of Krystal’s blood that now stained the pure white floor. “Just don’t hurt her anymore.”

            For the next few moments, not a sound was made; not a word was said. Finally Dash lowered the pistol. “You will go to Katina and retrieve a case of unique, valuable equipment for me. What the case contains is my final step in obtaining what my ancestors have fought for their entire lives. In eight hours, Lylat is mine.”

            _Katina?! How in Lylat does he expect me to take something from there?!_ Fox breathed a sigh of submission. _It doesn’t matter… anything to keep him from beating on her._ “What equipment?” Fox asked.

            “You don’t need to know.”

            Fox looked up at him. “Then how do I find it?”

            “I have someone already there in waiting. He will guide you to it.”

            “How do I find _him_?!”

            “He will find you.”

            “Why couldn’t he have stolen it for you?”

            “I wanted someone more skillful to trust.”

            “Then how about your bounty hunter? You couldn’t trust him to take care of this for you?!”

            “He’s an asset I can’t risk losing. I have a different purpose more suitable for him.”

            “And what makes you think that _I’m_ going to succeed?”

            “Fate provided me an answer for that.” Bowman glanced back at Krystal. “If we fail, and Corneria invades, they will kill _everyone_.” Dash brought himself eye to eye with Fox, wearing a malicious grin. “I promise you, I will make sure that _she_ is a part of _everyone_.”

            Fox fearfully stared back at Dash. “Please… don’t make her pay for my failure.” He begged.

            “I won’t have to if you succeed.”

            Fox thrust forward again. “I can’t guarantee that! _Please!_ Don’t put her life in my hands like-” Fox stopped. _Her life in my hands… just like before… when she was on my team… I couldn’t accept responsibility for her life…_ Fox looked at Krystal, who returned his gaze with the same expression she had the night he left her: Fear, loss, insecurity, crestfallen; all of it was reappearing right before him. Then there was two others he noticed: anger and shame. _You too are living it all over again, only this time you’re seeing me for the monster I really am._ Fox's face switched from that of shock to one of genuine dedication. _It’s time for a change._ “You listen to me Krystal.” Fox started off sternly. “I’m going to get you out of here. One way or another, I will save you.” This time it was Krystal’s turn to switch expressions. Fox saw trust enter her gaze as she gave him a small nod. The hurt and anger of betrayal were still there, she hadn’t forgiven him, but it warmed his heart to see she at least believed him.

            Bowman interrupted. “Funny, that brings me to my ending point.” He walked back around to Krystal’s left side. “One way or another… There is only one way Krystal survives this Fox, and that is: you bring me what I want. Your failure leads to her death.” Dash paused and looked at Fox with a stone cold expression. “Let me show you what happens if you try to save her another way.”

            Fox’s eyes widened as his heart started sprinting from those words.

            Dash lifted the pistol and aimed it straight down Krystal’s vertically bound arm.

“NO-”

The reverberating bang ended Fox’s exclamation. The laser bullet entered Krystal’s rotator cuff, burned through her bones, tore up her muscles, ligaments, and tendons, and exploded out her hand.

            Fox’s mind fell to pieces.

            Krystal drew her head up and released a heart shattering wail that filled the whole room. Tears poured out her eyes as she held her echoing cry until her throat gave out, yet her posture remained as if she were still wailing. After a few seconds of dead silence, she inhaled a raspy breath, then released it as she began to bawl immensely.

            Fox felt dead. His breath was gone, his voice was gone, his feeling was gone, and his thoughts were gone. He just sat there, listening to Krystal’s pain filled sobbing; staring blankly, mouth ajar, at her profusely bleeding, demolished arm that would never function again.

            Dash waived for something behind Fox. A moment later the electronic door slid open and two dogs entered and stood in front of Dash. “Take her to the medical room stat, she doesn’t have much time.” The dogs gave a salute, which Dash returned, and they wheeled Krystal out of Fox’s sight, one of them applying a tourniquet on her damaged appendage as they walked. Fox was still in shock at what he just witnessed, her wail still rung in his ears. _I failed her… I ACTUALLY failed her… The love of my life…_

Bowman squatted down in front of Fox, who was now mournfully staring into the crimson pool that Krystal left behind, paying no attention to him. Dash spoke softly. “In case you didn’t understand what I have just told you, I shot only-”

            “I’m going to kill you.” Fox whispered as a tear rolled down his cheek.

            Bowman paused a moment, then continued. “I shot on-”  

            Fox instantly threw himself at Dash as hard as he physically could, nearly breaking his own wrists that were cuffed to his chair and coming close to head butting Bowman. “I SWEAR! TO GOD! I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!!!”

            Dash didn’t budge as Fox was re-gagged with the same cloth as before. Fox didn’t fight it, nor did he show fear or surrender. He only kept his eyes on Dash’s, displaying through them the amount of honest harm Fox pledged to give him.

            Dash looked down and tried again. “It’s usually smart to wait and hear what the other has to say before you go making threats, Mr. McCloud. However with what you just went through, I’ll give you grace.” Bowman looked back up at Fox. “I only shot _one_ of her _four_ limbs. Each limb has two sections. Two down, six to go. Do you now understand what I am telling you?” Horror stepped into Fox’s eyes. “I thought so, but I’ll be nice. From now on, I’ll only do one section at a time.”

            Fox responded by furrowing his brow and spitefully staring back.

Dash smiled. “It’s too easy Mr. McCloud. Get the case and return here in six hours. Succeed, Krystal lives. Fail, I fail. I fail, I die. I die, she goes with me.” Dash stood up and walked out of Fox’s view. “In the meantime, as long as you don’t try to be a hero, Krystal gets injured no further.” Bowman suddenly leaped back in front of Fox and grabbed onto his wrists again, staring him dead in the eye with a haunting sincerity. “I _will know_ if you try to rescue her. I _will_ _KNOW_!” He leaned in even closer to Fox. “I _DARE YOU_ to _TEST ME_!” He spat. With that Bowman left the room which became quiet with the closing of the electronic door behind him. Fox felt the gag release as well as the salty liquid droplets that his eyes began to secrete. _This is all my fault. All her suffering traces back to me!_ He bent over and began to quiver as his weeping intensified. _Me and my protective ignorance. She was a gift to me, a privilege I never deserved, and all I did… all I’ve ever done! Is hurt-no… RUIN HER!_ Thelion stepped back into Fox’s view with his mask re-dawned. No action was taken, he just stood there with a dart in is hand, staring down at Fox.

Fox didn’t even bother looking up. “ _What_ are you _waiting for_?!” He said through gritted teeth.

The lion took a moment before giving his doleful answer. “I’m sorry.”

Every muscle in Fox’s face began to furiously twitch with perplexity and vexation; of all the things he expected the hunter to say, that was the very last. Finding his voice, Fox lifted his head, burned a loathing stare into the predator, and exploded in rage. “Sorry?! SORRY FOR WHAT?!!! SORRY FOR BRINGING HER HERE TO BE TORTURED AND PERMANENTLY MAIMED?!!! SORRY FOR STANDING AND WATCHING IT ALL HAPPEN?!!! SORRY FOR TOSSING HIM THE FUCKING PISTOL?!!!

The beast listened no longer. He swiftly pierced the dart into the side of Fox’s neck.

Fox managed to get one last sentence out before going under. “You’ve… good as… killed her…”


	8. Chapter 9

            General Peppy stood in holographic form, projected onto the floor of Admiral Shepherd’s Cornerian battle ship. The projection was to scale, and if it weren’t for the blue, transparent skin that Peppy held as a hologram, one would think he was actually there. Admiral Shepherd stood straight and strong in front of him, having just finished reporting their current situation; including the mercenary missing in action.

            “How could things have gone so wrong this quickly…? The poor boy…” Peppy said, burning with grief. “My daughter, Lucy, is she at least alright?”

            Shepherd spoke positively, trying to lift the general’s spirits. “Miss Hare is just fine, sir. We are currently holding our position and keeping a keen eye on the planet, looking for any signs of further aggression, and the return of Fox McCloud.”

            Relief flashed across Peppy’s face after hearing of Lucy’s good health. “How did he wind up down there again?” The general asked, struggling to come to grips with the loss of Fox.

            “I was told he was pursuing another mercenary. A female pilot, her name was Krystal.”

            “Oh what have I done…?” Peppy sighed, burying his face in his hands. “I brought the two of them back together, I put them in this jeopardy, and now I might have lost them both…”

            The admiral’s eyes hinted pity. He had heard his fill of stories about the exalted Star Fox team, as well as general Peppy’s history with them, but this was the first time he had ever witnessed an actual emotional connection between the two. “They aren’t confirmed KIA yet sir. Until we see proof, they will remain MIA.”

            Peppy seemed to perk up at hearing that. “Quite right. No need to put them in their graves yet. Your battleships are on the way, you’ve done an extraordinary job of suppressing this threat. Keep it up admiral.”

            Shepherd beamed with pride. “Thank you sir. You have an ETA on the arrival of my pair of reinforcements?”

            “Ten minutes Admiral.”

            “Let’s hope they don’t get caught up in an ambush like we did.” The admiral grunted.

            “They’ll be taking the same route you did, so unless you left any behind?”

            Shepherd cracked a smile. “I always clean my plate sir.”

            “Very good. Continue updating us on the situation, this is general Peppy signing off.”

            “You have a great rest of your day sir.” Shepherd answered with a well performed salute.

            Peppy returned the gesture with one equally practiced, then disappeared as the hologram projector cut the transmission.

            “So, I’m joinin’ Slip’ back at the Great Fox.” Falco piped up. “Either a you ladies with me?”

            Lucy instantly offered rebuke. “How could you even think of relaxing at a time like this?! Fox is still down there! Don’t you even care?!”

            Riled as they were, Falco forced his nerves to stay cool. “Hey I _tried_ to show concern for ol Fox, but all I got told was to SHUT UP!” Falco caught himself, calmed himself, and then continued. “So until he show’s his fuzzy face, I’m gonna chill back at the ship; maybe even have a beer with Slip’.”

            “That’s the _last_ thing I’m in the mood for right now Falco! R.O.B. and I are still finishing up repairs!” Slippy stated, stressed as ever.

            “Your loss. Lucy, Amanda, let me know when the fearless leader shows up.”

            Back on the battleship, Admiral Shepherd had been silently listening to yet another quarrel between the glorious Star Fox team. _These are the ones who saved this universe countless times eh?_ He chuckled to himself. He was about to interject again and order the bird to stay right where he was, due to the chance of another attack that could occur any second; but his right hand lieutenant spoke before he could.

            “Sir, our radar is picking up something. Two objects are emerging from the planet and headed straight towards us.”

            “Get those identified ASAP.” Shepherd ordered.

            Amanda butted in. “No need, Admiral, we’d recognize those ships anywhere.”

            Excitement found its way back into Lucy’s voice. “It’s Fox! And Krystal!”

            Shepherd smiled. “Well, well, looks like he pulled it off after all.”

            Lucy could hardly contain herself. “Fox! Fox! Are you okay?! What happened?! How are you Krystal?!”

            For once it seemed something in their day was about to go right for them, but the building joy ceased when there was no response. The two fighters just continued to head full speed towards the surviving fleet.

            The edges of Lucy’s smile slowly began to withdraw. “Fox?” She asked again, her expression transforming to one that matched her rising uneasy state.

            The pilots of the incoming arwings remained silent, Krystal’s arwing held its pace while Fox’s seemed to increase its speed.

            Even Falco had turned back to observe the turn of events. “Talk to us Fox.” He ordered, feeling the same unease as Lucy.

            Finally the arwings drew near to the battleships. Krystal’s fighter peeled away from Fox’s and began to circle around the entire area, while Fox’s held its course and began heading away from the group.

            Neither Lucy nor Falco gave warning to their immediate takeoff after the rabbiting fighter, as if in a race to see who could catch up to it first. Amanda was tempted to follow, but her eyes traced back to Krystal’s fighter when she heard it give its first transmission.

            “This is Krystal requesting permission to land in the starboard dock of cruiser charlie-eighteen, my Cloud Runner is in desperate need of repairs.”

            Amanda decided to stay behind and see how this played out. She didn’t like how calm Krystal sounded.

 

…………………………………..

 

            A rivulet flowed from each of Fox’s determined eyes as he headed straight for Katina in his Arwing II, his sight giving audience only to whatever obstacle might stray into his path. The noiseless vacuum of space now filled his ears with the cursed, never ending cry of Krystal’s suffering. Fox could still see her mangled arm. How clear that image was to him: the shards of her obliterated bone protruding all sections of her arm, opening up countless areas for her blood to pour out of. How haunting was that blood that had pooled itself beneath her chair and remained after her removal, left there to chastise Fox for his failure to protect her. _Here is the result of your choice! Here lies the consequence of your action! Here shouts the eternity of your punishment! This blood is none other than your doing! This blood is on none other than YOUR HANDS!_

            Fox screwed his eyes shut and grit his teeth, pushing his fighter to go even faster. His life no longer mattered to him. The galaxy, the civilians, Slippy, Peppy, Lucy, Amanda, R.O.B., his mother, his father; no one retained their value; nothing held its worth. Fox had one purpose now: to return to Krystal the life he stole from her. Soon as she was back in Panther’s arms, Fox’s life would be complete. All dreams of being with her were gone. He loved her, but now with the maiming of her arm, he knew he had maimed any possible chance of turning his fantasies to reality; all it took was one bullet. The shot blasted through his thoughts, momentarily overtaking the ghostly, continuous wailing of Krystal. _That shot… that one damn shot!_

Fox traced the bullet back to the gun that fired it, then to the hand that pulled the trigger, ending at the owner of the hand. Fox opened his eyes, allowing the tears to stream freely again whilst a dark countenance fell upon them. He began to visualize the moment Krystal was free from Dash’s firm fist, conspiring maniacal acts against the primate. _I don’t care if the galaxy dies, I don’t care if you gain what you want, I don’t care if I come out of this alive. After Krystal is safe, your blood will be the next thing to defile the white floor._ A savage grin slowly crept across Fox’s face. _I will slice off your eyelids, and make sure your eyes see every last ounce drain from your veins!_

            Fox pushed his arwing’s speed to its limits, paying no attention to the roaring engine that begged for mercy through the panels of the cockpit. _This will happen Dash! I will kill you! Your flesh will tear! Your blood will spill! I will kill you! I will kill you!_

………………………………………..

 

            “Fox! Please answer us!” Lucy begged, panicking over her leader’s silence. Her Sky Bunny was falling behind the Arwing II and Falco’s Sky Claw. “Falco, can you see him in there?! Is he okay?!

            “It’s Fox alright, but you don’t want to know what he looks like right now…” Falco answered, his voice leaking concern for the first time that Lucy could ever remember.

            “What kind of answer is that?!” Lucy freaked, “Is he alive?!”

            “He’s alive, and fully conscious. He just looks as if he’s been through hell and back.” _Guess Venom ol’ do that to ya…_ Then it hit Falco. “Ya know, you’d better remember this next time I’M asking for stuff!”

            “You really want to go into this now?!” Lucy furiously yelled.

            “All I’m saying is for you to remember it!” Falco answered, positioning his Sky Claw above and to the port side of the Arwing II. Suddenly he swooped down towards the fighter, aiming to strike its wing with his own.

 

………………………………………….

 

            Fox wished for nothing more than to wake from this nightmare, like all the other previous times he had on Venom. Krystal’s howling and weeping wouldn’t yield, it just kept getting louder. The sight of her wound wouldn’t fade from his sight, the scarlet liquid that flowed from it now seemed to drip from the image onto his own hands. Fox knew of one way to end the horror, all he’d have to do is disable his arwings life support, and it would all be over. _But not for Krystal… she’s still suffering! She’s still at the mercy of that tortuous maniac! I can’t heal her, I can’t rescue her, and I can’t protect her!_ For this nightmare, there was no way out. There was no escape. All Fox could do was submit, give Bowman what he wanted, and prey he would release her. _No!_ Fox changed his mind. _You will release her you bastard! She will go free, and when she does, your suffering will begin! My dying promise is that you will wish you had NEVER. BEEN. BORN! Only then will I kill you! I WILL KILL-_

Fox was jerked back into reality when he felt the left wing of his arwing get smashed into. Fox looked over at the culprit, and saw what had tried to slow him down.

           

……………………………………….

 

            “What are you doing Falco?! You could’ve just killed him!!!”

            Falco swept to the starboard side of Fox’s spacecraft from underneath it. “You gotta have more faith in these arwings, they can take all kinds of punishment.”

            “That aside, how is this helping?!!!”

            “You know how Fox can get hyper-focused, he’s on a mission. I’m just trying to get his attention.”

            Falco had hopes that it worked when the Arwing II began to fly upwards and circle around to the rear of Lucy and he. “Fox, can you hear me bud? You _gotta_ start removing your head from the stars!”

            There came an answer, but it wasn’t one Falco was expecting. As he watched Fox position himself behind the two of them, the Arwing II’s blasters lit up and sent laser bolts headed straight towards Falco’s Sky Claw. Falco rolled his fighter away from Lucy, attempting to stay clear of the continuous light storm the followed. “Looks like it worked a little too well!”

            Lucy couldn’t believe her eyes. Her body locked up as she sat and frightfully watched. “Fox, what are you doing?!!!”

 

………………………………………….

 

            Fox wiped the saltine fluid from his eyes that kept working to blur his vision. His mission was to deliver Krystal from the hell he had sent her to. Fox saw not Falco, not Lucy, not two friendly space crafts nor heard the voices that repetitively called out to him. He only saw obstructions, ones that must be cleared to accomplish his task. Homing in on his target, Fox put all his energy into obliterating the object.

           

………………………………………..

 

            “Fox, you’re really making it hard to resist defending myself right now!” Falco said, driving his fighter downwards then spinning upwards to his port side. “Lucy, care to help a fella out?!”

            Lucy was still struggling to accept the scenario. “What do you expect me to do?! Shoot him?!”

            “It’s gonna be him or me!” Falco shouted, then he thought about what he just said. “Why do I get the feeling I’m not going to like the answer to that statement…”

            Lucy was flooded with guilt, Falco was right. She couldn’t just stand by and watch him get torn to pieces. _But why does it have to be YOU Fox?!!! You trained me, you fed me, you housed me, and you gave me a place in the galaxy! Please don’t make me repay you like this…_

            Falco grunted in anger as Fox’s fire finally raked the outer wing of his Sky Claw. Falco decided that was enough. “Alright Fox, you asked for it!” Falco drove his fighter downwards and performed a summersault-spin maneuver, ending right where he wanted; headed straight up towards the bottom of Fox’s arwing. “I’ll try not to make this hurt too much!” Falco squeezed the triggers on his control wheel, and let loose on Fox.

 

…………………………………..

 

            Fox felt every laser ram into his arwing’s belly, if it weren’t for his shields it would’ve been a killing blow. Fox grit his teeth, screwing his expression into one of murderous determination as he pulled up on his control wheel and threw his space craft into a backflip just in time for Falco to fly by right under him. Following through the flip, Fox was back behind Falco and began blasting away again at the obstacle.

 

………………………………………

 

            _Damn! Those shields are stronger than I thought!_ Falco thought harshly, he had hoped to deplete them, then circle back around for a wounding blow to one of the Arwing II’s wings; but all he had succeeded in doing was pissing off Fox even further. Fortunately the Sky Claw had just enough of a speed advantage over Fox’s arwing, making it so Falco could put distance between the two of them, then perform a sudden drift; planting himself face to face with Fox, now able to return the horrendous flurry of light that Fox was mercilessly putting out.

 

…………………………………..

 

            All throughout the skirmish, Lucy still remained at a distance; unable to convince herself to take action. She watched in fear for both pilot’s lives as they entered into the famous space joust, dancing around each other’s shots whilst trying to hit each other. Lucy knew she was between a rock and a hard place. _If I sit back and do nothing, either Fox or Falco is going to get the winning blow. If I intervene and try to disorientate Fox, I could kill him! But not doing so could get Falco killed, or allow HIM to kill Fox!_ “Agh!” She cried, grabbing both her ears and tugging them down along the sides of her face. “Why is this happening?!” Then it hit her, she released her ears as she recalled when Leon had knocked out Falco with a smart bomb. _Falco had gotten himself far enough away from the blast to survive, he just lost consciousness._ Lucy had one smart bomb equipped to her fighter to use in desperate times. _If I can time the explosion, I can safely end this whole thing!_

Thankfully the two Star Fox members had entered their joust, allowing Lucy to catch up. She circled around the dual and parked herself over a thousand feet from them. _Five hundred feet in, five hundred feet out. I’ll have to book it once it’s launched, but it’s the only chance I have to save them both!_ She laid her delicate fingers on the button that would launch the bomb, spinning the dial placed around the button to set a four second delay on the detonation. _That should be enough time to ignite at the half way point._ She looked up at the stars and sent out another prayer. _You’ve protected me, now please… protect them._ She pressed the button.

 

…………………………………............

 

            Fox’s patience was depleted as he passed the obstacle for the third time, still failing to end its miserable existence. Every second he spent wasting time with it was another second Krystal continued to suffer. _I have to end this now!_ He began running through his options. Dash had the _decency_ to replenish the Arwing II’s smart bombs, and Fox knew just where to launch one as soon as he passed it to finish it off; or at least daze it long enough to shred it with his blasters. He’d have to absorb the shock of the blast as well, but not nearly as much as his opponent. _It’s a cheap tactic, but I’m done fooling around trying to finally best it with skill._ As he drifted around for the next round, he prepared the bomb. Once the obstacle had taken its place on the other side of the battle zone, Fox threw his thrusters to full speed and took off towards his target. _Last time!_ He promised.

 

…………………………………………….

 

Falco took off not a second after he saw Fox’s boosters send him rocketing forward. _You’re good Fox, but I’m better. You can’t keep dodging me forever!_ He cracked a smile. _Let’s see what you think of a quick spin around right after you pass me. What kind of burn will you feel when I hammer unsuspected blasts into your engine exhaust?!_ Falco kept his speed fast enough to not arouse suspicion, but slow enough to make the turn as soon as Fox swept by.

 

……………………………………………

 

The distance closed, Fox laid his thumb on the button, tensed to give his spacecraft the order, but it never came. The last thing Fox could remember was a white light going off to the side of him, completely filling his vision. _Krystal… Can’t… let her die…_ The colorless blur eventually faded, and Fox found himself lying on a cold, metal surface in a hanger; looking up into the faces of pink rabbit, a green frog, and a blue falcon.

 

……………………………………

 

            Lucy, Slippy, and Falco watched vigilantly as the fox they had just removed from his fighter and laid on the Great Fox II hanger floor began to wake.

“He’s coming to!” Slippy stated excitedly.

            “Fox?” Lucy asked tenderly, placing her hand on his shoulder.

            Her outreach was instantly rejected when Fox smacked it away, jumped to his feet, and took up a fighting stance, facing his three captors. “WHERE AM I?! WHO ARE YOU?!” He shouted.

 

…………………………………..

 

            Falco saw that coming the split second Fox’s pupils dilated, he only wished he had enough time to warn Lucy and Slippy, who had looks of pure horror and confusion on their faces; which only worsened with their leader’s demands. “Something’s extremely wrong with you if you _still_ don’t recognize us.” Falco said, agitated.

            Slippy began to approach Fox. “Fox, it’s Slippy… Don’t you remem-”

            “STAY BACK!” Fox ordered, causing Slippy to jump away as Fox tensed for an attack.

            Lucy’s mind was thrown into a world of chaos as she beheld her terrified leader. She had never seen him, let alone another being, in such condition. Dried blood covered just about every portion of his matted fur and ravaged clothing, claw marks drug across the top of his head and another set pierced through his tactical vest at the chest. The middle of his left bottom lip sustained a cut that stretched towards his jawline. His face held bruises on both sides distinctive enough to be seen through his fur, Lucy marveled at how he escaped without a black eye, she marveled at how he was still alive. On top of it all, he was acting as if he had never seen any of them in his entire life.

            The mental weight of it all broke her. Ten minutes ago he had attacked Falco, and just now he appeared ready to do the same to Slippy. Lucy couldn’t take it anymore, the Fox she knew had to come back. A tear left her eye as she marched up to him and went to slap him. “Why won’t you remember us?!!!”

            “Lucy, DON’T!” Falco yelled. He went to stop her, but he was just out of reach when Fox acted.

 

…………………………………..

 

Fox prepared himself as the pink rabbit came towards him. Catching her striking hand, Fox kept hold of it as he turned away from her, then pulled on her arm until she flipped her over his shoulders and was slammed onto the ground in front of him. He went to return the attempted offense, but came to a dead stop when he felt a cold metal tip touch the back of his head.

“You throw that fist, I will not hesitate to shoot you brother.” The voice of the blue falcon stated.

Fox kept his concentration on the rabbit, whose eyes trembled in disbelief at what he had just done.

“Falco, let’s just calm down here!” Slippy nervously pleaded.

_Falco…_ The name rung in Fox’s head.

“He’s not going to hurt Lucy, right Fox?” Slippy continued. “You were only protecting yourself right?”

_Lucy…_ Fox was beginning to remember.

“Protect himself my tail feathers!” Falco hollered.

Fox remained focused on the rabbit as he began to fully recognize her. “Lucy…” He looked around the room at Falco and Slippy. At that moment, everything he had done hit him like a meteor. Releasing Lucy’s hand, he stood up and offered his hand to her, who warily accepted it. “I… I’m sorry…” Fox whispered once she was eye to eye with him.

Lucy offered a small smile. “I’m just glad your back.”

Fox turned around to face Falco, who had lowered the pistol upon Fox’s standing. “I’m… I’m so sorry…” He repeated.

“All I want to know is what’s goin on.” Falco replied, suppressing his irritation. “What the hell happened down on Venom?”

Fox stared off into the space beyond Falco, all the screaming and the images came sprinting back to him. “We were captured.”

            Falco furrowed his feathered brow. “By whom?”

            Fox shut his eyes, attempting to control the anger, disgust, fear, and shock that was plaguing him. “Dash Bowman.” He whispered.

            Lucy gave a slight gasp whilst Slippy removed his favorite red and white ball cap and threw it on the ground. “He survived?!” He questioned.

            “How’d you two escape?” Falco interjected, trying to move the conversation along. After today’s events, nothing surprised him anymore.

            “We didn’t.” Fox said, looking off into the distance again.

            “Then how the hell did the two of you manage to fly off that planet?!”

            “ _We_ didn’t.” Fox repeated. “She’s still there…”

            “Bull shit! I watched her follow you in her Cloud Runner, she broke away from you as you flew on ahead!”

            Fox shifted his stare at Falco, his face now portrayed grave sincerity. “She’s not in the cockpit.”

            Falco was taken back a bit. “Then who is?”

            “It doesn’t matter… There’s no stopping him…”

            Falco threw his hands up in the air with frustration. “Excellent!” He looked over at Slippy. “Slip, go let Shepherd know he’s got a possible disguised threat in th-” Before he could finish, he felt two hands grab his jacket collar and drive his body backward until it slammed against a tool bench on the hanger floor.

Fox held Falco in place while he barked out, “There’s no stopping him! Dash still has her! That’s the catch!”

            Falco was beginning to prove himself wrong that nothing else today could surprise him, Fox’s sudden offense actual struck a bolt of fear through him. Rarely had Fox ever displayed such brute force. “So she’s a hostage, there’s ways around this Fox! But first we have to prevent-”

            “THERE’S NO PREVENTING! Bowman made it VERY clear to me that if his plan falls through, they’re going to kill him!”

            “I fail to see where this is a bad thing?!”

            Fox leaned in closer. “He’ll take Krystal with him.”

            “Then we kill him first, or we get the Cornerian Special Forces to sneak in and rescue her! They’ve done stuff like that many times! There _are options_ Fox!”

            Fox drew his pistol and put it right to Falco’s lower beak. “I. Won’t. Risk it.” He growled.

            The action didn’t even phase Falco, he’d had enough. He shoved Fox off of him. “So you’re telling me that we’re supposed to bow down and give the galaxy to this guy?! That no matter what we do, he’s gonna kill Krystal?! We have to do something Fox! I understand the risk, but you have to compare one life versus trillions!”

            Fox started slowly shaking his head. “He’s not going to just kill her.” Suddenly he voiced a deranged chuckle. “That’s the best part. He’s just going to destroy her limbs.” He continued his light laughter. “One by one.”

            Horror leapt onto Falco’s face.

            Tears began rolling down Fox’s cheeks as he continued his demented chuckling, his eyes fearfully widening as he relived the ghastly moment. “He-he shattered one right in front of me… just took the gun, and… and sent a bullet right through her shoulder; straight down her arm.”

            Lucy clasped her hands over her mouth, a tear now rolled from her eye at hearing the horrid act.

            Fox’s laughing turned into an unhindered sobbing as he dropped his hand gun and fell to the ground, propped up on his knees and elbows. He tried his best to speak through his weeping. “If… if he gets even the… smallest hint that the military knows of his plans… If he even suspects that… I’m trying to find a way to save her other than… what he’s told me to do… she will suffer, she will suffer worse than anything imaginable.” Fox looked up at Falco through his saltine fluid soaked eyes. “He will make her, and me alongside her, _beg_ him to just kill her.”

            Falco was rendered speechless. Fox had been right all along. All the false alarms they reported too, all the distress calls that turned out to be phony, Fox had finally stumbled upon the real thing. Bowman was alive, and now he had Fox in his hands like a puppet; by a means that not even a nightmare could do justice. Guilt reared its ugly head inside of Falco. _All the shit I’ve ever given him…_ Falco came to a conclusion. He knelt down beside Fox, who had dropped his head back towards the floor. “So… what does he want you to do?”

            “I hardly even know…” Fox whispered. “I’m supposed to go to Katina and meet up with someone who’ll guide me to a case of valuable equipment that Dash wouldn’t even describe to me, steal it, and report back to him. By now, I’ve only got...” Fox took a moment to look at a watch that Falco had never seen before, a watch that had a set time ticking away on its screen. “Four hours, thirty-nine minutes until it’s over for me, and it begins for her…”

            _This just keeps getting better._ Falco mused, taking a moment to think the whole situation over. “Katina huh? Robbing the place is going to be no small task. You’re gonna need help.”

            Fox looked back up at Falco.

            Falco raised his voice. “R.O.B., set course for Katina, and make it a real snappy trip.”

            R.O.B. responded over the comm line. “COURSE CHARTED. BRACE FOR MOVEMENT.”

            Falco returned audience to Fox. “What was the last thing you ate?”

            Fox had to think for a moment. The last time he ever gave genuine thought to food was at least twelve to fifteen hours ago. “Protein pills.” He answered.

            “Dear Lylat…” Falco mumbled, face-palming himself with his feathered hand. “Slip’, get him something to eat.”

            “I’ll whip up something quick!” Slip exclaimed as he charged off on his newfound mission.

            “I’m not sure if I even _can_ eat right now…” Fox uttered.

            “Too bad. If you’re gonna steal from the capital Cornerian military in this system, you’re going to put something more in your stomach than freakin’ _pills_.” Falco looked Fox over. “Plus, you’re going to take a shower and get into some new clothes, because _you_ are a _freakin’ mess_!

            R.O.B.’s voice came over the Great Fox’s intercom. “DISTRESS CALL FROM AMANDA.”

            Next came Amanda’s voice. “Guys, are you all deaf?! I’ve been trying to hail you forever! Cruiser Charlie-Eighteen has been infiltrated! I don’t know who was in Krystal’s fighter, but it wasn’t her!”

            Falco looked at Fox, his expression asking for orders. No words were needed for Fox’s response. The decision was made. Falco grit his teeth behind his beak. “Amanda, stand down. Return to the Great Fox.”

            “Excuse me?! Did I not make myself clear?! People are dying in there!”

            “Amanda, don’t argue with this one. Just get back here.”

            “I want an explanation, feathers!”

            _That’s new._ Falco thought. “You’re not getting one. Get back here or we ship off without you. R.O.B., cut the line.”

            “COMM LINE TERMINATED.”

            Throughout the conversation, Falco never broke his locked-in stare with Fox, questioning his own sanity. Krystal was an important figure to the whole Star Fox team, and no living thing deserved to be shot to pieces, but he had to ask himself: _Is her freedom worth giving in to a terrorist? Is trading billions of lives to rescue her from her tormentor the moral choice?_ For Fox, the choice was clear. For Falco, even with their charted course to Katina, it still hung in the balance.  


	9. Chapter 10

A young pit bull humanoid fell to the ground as he choked on blood that began filling his lungs from the shrapnel that tore through his upper body. The dog gasped for air in vain as any room for oxygen was becoming occupied by his internal fluid. Panic set in as the CSC (Cornerian Space Core) mechanic realized his fate, but his will to live wouldn’t cave. _Keep your eyes open!_ He ordered. _Don’t go into shock!_ He continued to struggle valiantly, hoping for a miracle that would never come.

            The pit bull didn’t hear nor see the pair of black boots that landed right beside him, nor the individual that filled them. The last thing the dog saw was the flash of a pistol’s muzzle aimed straight at his head. The soldier went limp on the floor as his life was extinguished from existence. The now empty shell lay with the rest of its once breathing brethren in the hanger of charlie-eighteen.

            The lion stood as the lone survivor of the carnage. Not many soldiers had been on hand in the landing deck when he had first arrived in the fighter that disguised him enough to fly into the hanger without retort from the rapid fire turbolaser turrets that stood guard on both sides of its entrance with a force field that acted as its door, which the operators of the charlie-eighteen landing deck deactivated with trust that they were welcoming a prestigious member of Star Fox; trust that was shattered when the Cloud Runner opened fire on every living thing, piece defensive equipment, and security camera in the hanger.

When the beast had landed the spacecraft, he landed amidst shattered crates of various supplies, burning oil and fuel canisters, crippled fighters that erupted and burned from their own internal fluids and electric wiring, and all the shredded, scorched bodies of the jet chamber’s current occupants. The hunter had wasted no time remaining in the cockpit, he had multiple ideas of what was coming next. He had grabbed his sniper rifle and leapt to the floor; landing right next to the fatally wounded pit bull.

The lion had looked upon him with pity, observing the striving spirit that shined from his iris’ as he tried to fight past his scarlet filled lungs in order to stay conscious. _I will spare you from such a death._ He thought as he released his supporting hand from his rifle and reached for a rapid fire laser pistol strapped to his thigh. Aiming at the head of the soldier, he pulled the trigger and released him from his suffering. Re-sheathing the pistol, he spent no more time on the matter as he began walking towards the steel entry door that lead deeper into the ship, mentally planning for what he knew was coming his way.

They were known as the CSC IRT (Infiltration Response Team). Corneria had trained these responders to be able to neutralize any threat that were to invade the ship as quickly and with the least amount of collateral damage as possible. Their skills far outweighed the combat effectiveness of even the most decorated infantrymen. Partnered with their abilities, the government armed them with the most efficient tactical gear and weapons known to animal kind. Thanks to Dash’s corrupt soldiers on the inside of the continuously unsuspecting Cornerian military, the lion knew every aspect of it all.

Their base uniform was a flame retardant BDU (Battle Dress Uniform) of a steel gray color that blended with the interior walls of the ship. Their hands were gloved in a smoky blue fire proof material same as the BDU. On their left forearm they wore a flat, touch screen VDT (visual display terminal) that allowed them to control certain aspects of the ship from their person. Their boots, upper body armor, and helmets were tinted the same color as the gloves and made of a wondrous carbon fiber. The hunter had little understanding of the armor, but he knew all too well of its abilities.

The anatomy of the material used in the armor had a bond strong as diamond, yet remained remarkably lightweight and could absorb, then dissipate offensive energy by adaptively relaxing as it underwent the impact of its offender. Topping it off, the material had a near limitless heat resistance; the alloy was unable to retain heat, making even some high caliber laser and plasma based munitions useless against it.

The IRT’s boots ran up to their knees and their upper body plates covered all but their arms. The soldier’s headgear left only their snout and anterior part of their necks vulnerable. A neon green, bullet proof glass visor stretched across both eyes of the wearer, while the rest of their skull was covered in a dome shaped helmet that held an imperial design. The helmets posterior end spread down far enough to shield the back of the wearer’s neck.

In the knowledgeable hands of each IRT member lay a three shot round burst laser rifle equipped with an adaptable holographic to ACOG sight; the ACOG holding thermal capabilities.

Trained to face, outwit, and kill things both known and unknown to them, the CSC IRT was one of the deadliest forces known to the universe. To the hunter, they were his next game.

He stopped at the top of the long ramp that led up to a solid balcony that stretched along the elongated wall that contained the doorway to the internal portion of the ship. Removing his supporting hand from his sniper rifle, he reached into a tactical pouch that stretched along his entire spine and pulled out a handful of black, solid spheres about four centimeters in diameter each. He bent down and scattered them all across the surface that lay in front of the silver doors, sending a few rolling down both ends of the raised platform.

Right as the last ball left his hand, the predator heard the footsteps of his approaching company. _I’m ready for you, my prey._ Sliding his rifle onto his back, he pulled out his pistol and aimed it toward a rafter about one hundred meters posterior to him in the hanger ceiling. Grasping the blaster with his other hand as he turned to face it, he pulled a secondary trigger placed an inch ahead of the primary. Out launched a grappling line that attached itself to the horizontal beam through an activated magnet. In the split second before the pull the lion tightened his grip while relaxing the rest of the muscles in his body, aiming to lessen the toll the jerk would take on him. The tug came strong, but his grip proved stronger as he lifted off the ground and flew towards the ceiling right as his ears picked up the heavy click of the steel doors preparing to open. The entrance split and a missile bolted through it; heading straight for the Cloud Runner and delivering an instant death sentence upon impact. The lion curled himself into a ball to shield his vital areas from the flame and debris; his exosuit protected the rest of him from the heat and small shrapnel that could reach the twenty-five meter high ceiling. Following the missile was a thick smoke cover that flooded into the hanger via the doorway, providing around an eight square meter concealment for the incoming squad of soldiers.

These stealth attempts never phased the hunter, his mask’s thermal vision could see through most screens of any kind. He switched it on and observed the last two of a ten dog group run into the room and take up positions exactly where he planned. They remained inside the smokescreen, able to see him equally as clear with their own headgear.

The beast smirked under his mask.

Right as the first Infiltration Response member spotted him and raised his weapon to fire, the lion pressed down on an ignition stick he held in his free hand. Simultaneously, the floor on which the defense team stood lit up in an enormous plume of fire, heating the surrounding air to an alarming temperature; burning there exposed neck and muzzle as well as overwhelming their thermal vision. The beast used the opportunity to lower himself back down to the floor, sprint up the ramp, into the smoke, past the ten temporarily blind soldiers and into the hallway from which they came.

During the run the hunter drew his rifle from his back and locked the scope down against right side of the weapon. As he neared the passage entrance he slowed his pace and brought the sniper rifle’s holographic sight up to his right eye; the rifle’s speed and power was near the only thing that could penetrate through the armor of the CSC IRT, he would need a sight that allowed him to keep his view open and easily switch from target to target.

The beast cleared the smoke and laid eyes on six soldiers that were positioned at different distance points along the approximately hallway; the first two were taking cover behind steel panels that had about a two square meter dimension and were placed only three meters ahead of him. In less than a second, the lion placed the red dot on the head of the dog closest to him and pulled the trigger.

The instant the blast left the barrel he swiftly shifted his aim over to the soldier on the other side, lining up his sights and releasing another shot right as the first bullet hit its target. As he released the trigger, the lion rolled behind the thick, steel barricade that his first target on the opposite side had used for cover; who now lay motionless on the floor with a small hole burned deep into his brain. The predator grabbed the corpse’s head and yanked his entire body over to his side of panel. He acted with a purpose as he listened to the bullets burn into the opposite side of his cover, and kept tabs on the group right outside the passage. He grabbed the dead soldiers VDT and quickly searched out door controls, finding the option for it already on the screen’s main menu. The hunter knew it wouldn’t be hard to find, they were always programmed to be easily accessible in case the IRT member needed to create a split second barricade. Once the option was selected, it instantly honed in on his location and gave him the door controls for all entryways in his vicinity. Choosing the one that went to the hanger, he shut the massive, dense steel doors right as the HUD (heads up display) of the ten IRT soldiers outside the hallway had cleared.

His mind raced to the next step, knowing the dogs he just shut out could easily reopen the door any second. He swiftly pulled out a secure digital card out of a slotted pocket on the right shoulder of his exosuit and inserted it into the designated slot on the VDT.

A voice came over the headset the lion had built into his mask. “Standby… I am now in the system. How can I-”

“Lock hanger two’s entry door and deactivate the hanger’s security force fields _now_.” The beast demanded in as hushed a tone as possible. With that he dropped the wrist and braced himself for his next move. The four remaining IRT soldiers had ceased fire around two seconds ago, and the beast knew two of them were already creeping up on him. They’d come side by side so they could fire simultaneously as soon as they had him in sight, one aiming toward the top of his cover and the other aiming at the side of it. Their thermal sights would be off since the smoke had cleared, so a heat blind was now useless. He’d have to beat them with a distraction and a faster trigger finger. He could hear their footsteps now.

He reached for his laser pistol with his supporting hand and fired a shot from it at the ceiling. The second the shot left the weapon he dropped the pistol, firmly held his rifle in the fire-ready position, and jumped sideways out from his panel. Promptly spotting the two soldiers hardly a meter away, the lion aimed at the one whose barrel was pointing lower and put a round in his chest right before hitting the ground as his lunge drew to a close. After the landing gave its impact, the lion brought his aim to his left and put a second round in the chest of the other IRT dog. As the beast slid to a halt he grabbed the foot of the third soldier he killed and yanked it over to him for cover from the two remaining IRT members. Once within better reach, he grabbed it by the armors scruff and sat up with it, turning the body into a human shield.

Bringing the rifle up with him, he lifted it up with his firing arm until his eye looked through its sights. Honing his holographic sight in on the exposed head of the first of the two surviving soldiers, located to his right six meters down the hallway, he scorched the interior of the dog’s snout with a searing laser bullet, then swung his aim over to the other soldier and brought his annoying hammering into his shield to a halt. Both bodies fell to the ground, and the lion once again remained as the sole victor of the battle. From the moment he entered the passageway, the whole skirmish had taken him twelve seconds.

The beast threw his dead cover to the side and stood up. “Are the dogs in the hanger taken care of?”

The voice from before answered. “Too easy, they’re sleeping among the stars now. You just have no way off unless you make your way to another hanger.”

“I won’t be leaving.” The beast stated as he leaned down to pick up his pistol he had previously dropped, sliding it back into its holster strapped to his leg.

“Just giving you some situational awareness.”

The lion started walking down the hallway. “How about you follow your programming and give me troop locations.”

“That’s situational awareness. There are four more IRT members waiting fifteen meters down this hallway, with two turns for you to take on your way. One to the left, and one to the right. Standby… Note: there is a trap ahead that they intend to use to hold you until they can figure out a way to dispose of you. They will enclose you between two mobile force fields that can adaptively position themselves along the hallway.”

The predator just finished rounding the first turn. “Let them. Don’t do anything until I give the order.”

“Procrastinating my primary directive could prove futile, for you.”

The hunter didn’t appreciate the last two snide words of that statement, but he ignored his irritation and kept walking down the passage, coming up on the second turn.

“I can see you are arrogant. I shall stand by and hope for the best.” The voice said, his tone carrying a hint of irony.

The beast froze, his eyes grew wide, and everything flashed white.

A voice from a past memory spoke out. “You and your arrogance… I’ll wait. Over.”

The flash faded to black, and the lion slowly opened a door that lead to a large, flat roof under a clear sky. The sun exposed the fur on his arms and face for its dark golden color as it warmed his darker brown, pony-tailed mane. The breeze met him instantaneously and kept the heat at a comfortable level; his clothing working towards that even further. He wore a light weight, short sleeved, tan colored overshirt with pockets symmetrically placed on his sleeves, chest, and abdomen. Cargo pants of the same color clothed his lower body with brown leather, oil tanned, steel toed boots encasing his feet. On his right wrist he wore a matte black weather/terrain proof watch, and his knees and elbows were protected by black pads. He answered the voice via a small communications earpiece he kept concealed under his mane as he dropped to the ground and began crawling to the roof’s edge. “We need both of our eyes on before you give Hotel team the go, especially with the glare we’ll be fighting from the sun. Over.”

“We both know our scopes are built to adjust for that factor, you just want an equal shot at the hostiles. Over.”

“Be professional.”

“For you that translates to arrogance. Over.”

“Eyes on.” The hunter said, forcefully halting the conversation as he reached the roofs edge and began setting up his sniper rifle in a steady, comfortable firing position.

“You never could stay in it to win it. Copy eyes on. Hotel, your overwatch is in position. All eyes on target building. Over.”

A second voice came over the comm line. “Good copy, angels are in the clouds. Let us know when you part the seas, over.”

“Standby.” The first voice replied. “Guardian five, what’s swimming on your end? Over.”

The predator had already scoped the place out. Approximately three quarters of a klick from his position was a ten story building that greatly outdid its own width. It was placed in the mist of other buildings that measured up to half its height at most. From there the structures stretched into a city that was densely populated.

 _It’s always populated._ The lion thought. _We can never complete these assignments without reading about a collateral damage, casualty, or death in the news the next day!_ Eventually he just blocked it out, he had stopped reading the papers after his sixth mission in the cities. _Do the job, achieve the goal, and go home._ Still, some tasks made him wonder if he was really fighting for the right people.

The hunter himself was watching from a seven stories tall building that gave him a great view of the floor that surrounded the south half of the target building. A solid steel wall a little over four meters tall surrounded the compound of interest with electrified wire tracing its peak, creating a courtyard with a near thirty meter radius. Crates, large shipping containers, tactical hovercrafts, patrol guards and physical labor workers of various species filled the inner compound. No gate was present on the south side; his partner had that covered on the north end.

The beast switched on his scope’s thermal vision and checked to make sure there were no other armed animals walking close to the tall perimeter fence. “Three pairs of security officers patrolling the south end. I can promise two of them down when this kicks off, then I’ll do what I can for the last couple. No promises. Over.”

“Your game down a bit today Guardian five?” Replied his partner. “Usually you never leave anything behind?”

“Cute as your teasing may be, Guardian ten, you should pay more attention to your field of vision.”

“I can multitask, they wouldn’t have let me become Guardian Angel if I couldn’t.”

“For an Angel, you talk way too much. Over.”

“This Angel’s expressive, and she’s going to make sure she gets everything off of her mind before the good Lord takes her. Over.”

The lion couldn’t resist smiling. He admired her stubbornness; she was a fighter, never one to quit. She had the patience for this field and she lived off the thrill of a successful hunt. It was no wonder that she earned her spot with the Guardian Angels. The predator only wished neither of them had ever joined.

He shook himself free of the memory, refusing to allow it to go any further. He kept walking and forgot he had even had it.

He approached his second corner and stopped as he reached its edge. “Get me feed of the hallway that the trap is set at.”

“Streaming to your HUD now.”

Momentarily, the hunter’s eyes observed a rear view of the four IRT members awaiting his approach. The first two were hiding behind the corners of a hallway that intersected the hallway of interest. The other two were three meters further down the passage taking cover behind panels identical to the ones they had utilized at the hanger entrance. All four soldiers were trained on the corner the lion was preparing to round.

 _Too easy._ The beast thought as he backed away from the corner and reached into his backpack for another handful of his anti-thermal explosives. “Lock onto them and transfer their exact locations from the security feed to my HUD.”

“You know a _please_ before these requests would be appreciated.”

“You’re opinion wasn’t a part of my orders.”

“Yet my programming doesn’t prohibit me from voicing it. You’re HUD is now locked on to all four hostiles.”

The predator observed four hollow mini red diamonds appear before his eyes in the exact locations of each troop around the corner. _Perfect_. Without wasting another second, the lion chucked the pile of mini spheres from his hand at just the right angle for them to bounce off the opposite wall of the hallway and bounce toward the IRT members. Laser rounds hailed down upon the launched projectiles the instant they entered the IRT’s sight. The lion counted to four, starting from the moment the explosives left his hand, then pushed down on the trigger stick he had used before. Swiftly he threw the igniter back into his pack and brought his rifle up to his shoulder, holding in firmly in the fire-ready position as he walked around the corner, ferociously eyeing the four diamonds in case they decided to pop up from their cover and attempt to take a blind shot.

Soon as he had walked hardly a meter down the hallway, a blue force field lit up behind him and blocked his escape, whilst another one three meters ahead of him activated, trapping him between the two energy composed walls. Right on cue, both walls slid towards him and took away the extra walking space, leaving him with the same width of the hallway, but its length had been reduced to half a meter. The predator took caution not to make a move that would be slapped back at him by the intense shock of the artificial walls.

A stern, masculine, agitated voice flooded the halls. “Your turns over. Now it’s mine.” Suddenly Admiral Shepherd appeared in the setup hallway via the intersecting passageway; his Lieutenant followed close behind him. He removed his hand from a miniature mic that was clipped to the collar of his dress uniform, looking the mask of the beast dead in its blood red eyes. “And let me tell you: you’ve really _pissed_ me off.”

With a snap of the admiral’s fingers, the distance between the walls suddenly closed enough to come in complete contact with the front and back of the intruder without crushing him. The intruder roared in immense pain as it felt like every centimeter of his body was being furiously beaten with white hot steel fists. The walls spread again and the lion collapsed to his side and his rifle with him.

Shepherd walked right up to the transparent wall and knelt down near the position of the hunter’s head. “I have half a mind to close that distance again and leave it there until your mental endurance shatters from the unbearable pain. There’s only one way you can even have a spark of hope to escape that fate. You tell me what the hell you’re doing on my ship, stealing the valuable lives of _my men_ ; and you explain where the hell you got, and what the hell you were doing with, the Cloud Runner. You have five seconds to make your choice.”

The predator mustered a grin underneath his mask. “You value the lives of your men?” He aimed his mask’s chilling gaze at the admiral. “Funny how your dead can’t support you.”

Shepherd kept his composure, but the lion caught the flash of rage in his pupils as they constricted. Still, Shepherd said nothing. His response was composed of the slow lifting of his right hand, and the crisp snap of his fingers. With that the walls instantly pressed up against the hunter’s body and he resumed hissing and yowling in torment from their energized beating as the heat intensified.

Shepherd watched for a moment before turning to walk away. The Lieutenant held fast for a moment longer, a look of slight confusion and anxiety hanging on his face. After a couple seconds he pivoted completely around and went to catch up with the Admiral.

The beast was beginning to succumb to the intense beating of his energy composed prison. Mustering all the strength and volume he had left, he bellowed out, “REAR SHIELD… NOW!”

Shepherd and the Lieutenant turned back towards the outburst.

The voice in the hunter’s comm set responded in the snidest tone he could. “You’re now ready for me to conduct my primary directive?”

The lion was beginning to fade from consciousness, but his fury at his assistant allowed him one more sentence. “YES… you…little…SHIT!”

Shepherd didn’t know the exact meaning of the predators words, be his demeanor dove into unease from realizing it wasn’t anything good.

The voice responded pridefully at his successful irritation of the large cat. “Rear shields deactivating.”

The rear shield disappeared and the hunter fell onto his back and his rifle on top of him. His body begged to stay there, every muscle pleaded not to tense for movement again, yet hardly a second after release the lion had rolled himself to a sitting position and started to stand up; he had learned to quickly ignore all pain from his body a long time ago. _You live for the hunt._ He reminded himself. _You live for nothing, but the hunt._

He rose to his feet and found great pleasure in the bewildered and distressed expressions of his quarry as they repetitively tried to use their wrist controls to regain control of the force field. “Put them in their own trap.”

Immediately the still standing shield took off towards the four IRT members and sent them flying back towards the intersecting hallways. Shepherd acted the second he saw the energized wall move by grabbing the scruff of his Lieutenant and diving out of the force field’s path. The shield continued on, knocking the four defenseless soldiers caught in its charge back a few meters with each blow. Once they were ten meters down the passage the shield dissolved and the set of motors that powered it slid down their rails one meter past them and came to a halt. The second set of motors had followed close behind and were already in position before the IRT could gather themselves. In a split second they both reactivated, trapping the four soldiers.

The Admiral had watched the whole thing with a wrathful horror he was struggling to contain. _This isn’t possible… how the hell is he doing this?!_ He turned to the hunter, whose menacing mask had already been locked on to him. “You chose to save yourself and the life of your right hand officer.”

Shepherd yelled at the beagle to shut down the ships power as he drew his pistol. Before the Admiral could fire, the predator ordered, “Lights out.”

Instantaneously the ship went dark, and Shepherd’s plasma blasts hit only the wall of the opposing side of the hallway. The beast continued. “Now witness your consequence as four lives perish a miserable fate from which you freed yourself.” Another order came, one that sent a chill up the Admiral’s spine that he hadn’t felt in years. “Execute them.”

The walls closed their distance, and the screams of each of the four soldiers rang through all different passages of the ship. All Shepherd could now see was the blue glow lighting up the execution his men had been sentenced too. The sight distracted him a second too long as he felt a dense boot thrust into the middle of his back, sending him smashing into the ground.

Before he could push himself back up an arm had wrapped around his neck and lifted him to his knees. “Lieutenant! Shut… the power…!” The Admiral strained to choke out.

The lion spoke to him as he slowly tightened his hold on Admiral Shepherd, reducing his ability to breath. “Watch them die, accept the consequence of your action, and ask yourself, ‘should I still be alive?’”

Shepherd found himself listening intently as his oxygen slowly continued to be deprived from him, undergoing the heart shattering view of his soldiers dying from his very orders. Once again he faced the struggle, once again he faced the haunting wish.

The beast didn’t cease. “Those soldiers each had lives of their own, friends and family that they treasured dearly; how many more like them have died under your command, whilst you live on?”

Shepherd closed his eyes, making a decision that kept getting harder. “They knew what they signed up for.” He reached up with his hand and went to grasp the pinkie of the hand of the hunter’s choking arm. “They had their duties, and I have mine.” He successfully pried it free enough to grip it entirely. “One of them being that I either honor their death by making it worth something.” With a swift bending motion towards the outside of the beast’s hand, he snapped the bone in two. “Or die trying!”

The predator hissed from the stinging agony. Shepherd took advantage of the moment the lion loosened his grip, spinning around to his back side so that he laid face to face with the hunter. He then trapped the beast’s left arm and leg with his own, brought the lion crashing to its side, and rolled right on top of him; immediately raining down as many blows as he could to the mask of the executioner.

The predator attempted to shield his face from the strikes and grab one of Shepherd’s fist, but Shepherd moved to quick and instantly started landing punches into the stomach of the beast, maintaining the dominant position in brawl. The hunter fought past the pain and loss of his wind and began keeping better tabs of where the Admiral would hit next. Shepherd realized his blows were becoming less effective and began to reassess his strategy. The lion finally caught hold of both the Admiral’s fists and they became locked in a stalemate. In the locked pause, Shepherd took in the sounds of the dying breaths of the IRT behind him. _They’re still alive._ He remembered his pathetic right hand beagle. “Lieutenant, shut down the damn power!”

When no response came, Shepherd hopped to his feet, stood up, lifted his opponent up with him, and then brought the hunter slamming back down onto the metal floor. The predator’s grip failed and the Admiral broke free. Immediately Shepherd searched out the beagle and found him standing exactly where he had left him. “LIEUTENANT!” The dog still didn’t move. Shepherd wasted no more time and grabbed his own mic, attempting to contact the bridge himself. “Does anybody read me?! Somebody cut the power to the whole damn cruiser!” He received no response. _Damn comms are out!_ He quickly debated his next move, but his mind froze when his ears picked up the silence. Everything was quiet again, minus the crackling of the four corpses still making continuous contact with the two force fields.

Shepherd brought his attention to the grueling sound, fighting the wish to believe it wasn’t real. Fight the fantasy that it wasn’t too late. _They’re dead Shepherd._ He told himself. _They died for their cause._ He looked back over at his Lieutenant standing in the now fading blue glow. Fury slowly boiled up inside the Admiral. “You _fucking_ coward.” He growled slowly. “You could’ve done _something_!”

Shepherd lost his mentality as he moved to lay hands on the beagle’s throat. “WHY the HELL did you just STAND THERE?!” In his blind anger, he had failed to pick up one detail about the Lieutenant. A detail that brought him to the ground with a hole burned into his lower abdomen.

The beagle slowly lowered the blaster in his right hand, with a small grin of successful deceit on his lips.


	10. Chapter 11

Never in his life had Fox hated feeling as much as he did now, standing underneath one of the three shower heads in the Great Fox II’s shower room. The water ran through his fur, soothing his skin as it washed the dried blood from his coat, but he refused to enjoy its hydrating flow. He also refused to flinch when the hot stream of water came in contact with the scars on his head and chest, causing them to burn with an agonizing passion as it cleansed the wounds from any contaminants that had already begun to infect them. He would feel none of it, reacting to pleasure nor pain was a luxury he no longer deserved.

            He hadn’t even wanted the shower itself; it had no benefit to saving Krystal. Every second he stood in there was a second he could be using to prepare himself for his upcoming mission. Yet no matter what argument he gave, the team would hear none of it. Fox finally caved on the point that he owed it to them. If they were going to lay their necks on a stone slab by helping him break into the military planet that was known as Katina, one that they had sided with for their entire career with Star Fox, then he could at least set their minds at ease by taking a shower. For Fox however, the shower was far from easing.

            His mind was racing along a mental track that ran in a repeating loop, his eyes intently watching the red liquid that streamed from his coat onto the tiled floor, tracing the grout gaps between the weathered white tiles until it found and began to pour into the drain. The sight shouted the same message as when he had seen Krystal’s blood. _Here is the result of your choice! Here lies the consequence of your action! Here shouts the eternity of your punishment!_ Fox’s ears now rang, the volume of the haunting charges had reached an unbearable level. His sorrow for her fed into his rage at himself. Every muscle under his skin slowly began to tense as his emotions flared out of his control. _This blood is none other than your doing! This blood is on none other than YOUR HANDS!_

            Fox snapped. His fist brought all his fury pounding into the tile wall of the shower. He didn’t cease with just one strike. He retracted his arm and sent it rocketing forward into the wall. Again he struck, and again, and again, and again. His blows became fast enough to be a blur to an observer. A seventh hit, then an eighth, a ninth, a tenth. Fox kept going until his entire fist felt like it was a shattered sack of glass. Once finished, he stepped back from the shower wall, threw his head up, and screamed at the top of his lungs. Once his chest had all but collapsed he removed himself from the shower water and ripped a towel off of its bar. “I’m done wasting time.” He growled to himself.

                                                                           

……………………………………….

 

            Lucy had started toward the shower door the minute she heard the lighting fast pounding, but Falco held her back.

            “Give him space.” Said Falco, trying to sound comforting through his focused appearance.

            Lucy offered no acts of disagreement but looked worryingly at the door. Fox’s mind was very much a wild card at this point; she feared for his safety. It had been her idea Falco and herself to standby outside in case Fox did something drastic, and though Falco had expressed annoyance, she could tell he felt the same when he didn’t put up a fight or volunteer Slippy for it. She sensed that Falco was also recognizing the possibility of the worst, and he prided himself in being the most qualified to subdue Fox should the worst occur.

Then came the scream. She had heard Fox yell many times during the restoration of Venom, but this scream silenced the rest. It burst through the Great Fox’s walls as if they weren’t even there, painfully falling upon their ears as if it were piercing them. The scream lasted about four seconds, then fell silent.

            Before she could even look up at him Falco had let her go and overrided the panel on the wall that opened the locked shower room door. He rushed inside and Lucy followed close behind, both found Fox violently drying himself off with a towel. Lucy had already attempted to prepare herself for seeing Fox in his undressed state and stay professional, though her attempt was in vain when a slight blush still presented itself through her fur. She was relieved that Falco wasn’t paying any attention to her, and Fox wasn’t showing any signs of even recognizing his naked presence. Once over herself, she felt even more relieved when she assessed Fox to be alright, until she laid eyes on his hand.

 

………………………………………

 

            Fox had heard and ignored the door to the shower room opening as well as the two animals who rushed in. He continued to dry himself as quick as he could.

            “We ask you to clean up, and you go and make more of a mess of yourself.” Falco scolded.

            Fox didn’t even look at Falco. “I’m clean enough, there’s better things to do during our transit.” Fox threw his towel to the side and reached for his clothes.

            Falco snatched Fox’s wrist and drew it in so that Fox was forced to face him. Falco glanced at Fox’s captured hand. “And what do you make of that?” He said as he looked back at Fox and raised his eyebrows.

            Fox took a look and found his knuckles, his fingers and the back of his hand covered in blood that trailed down his forearm, seeping into Falco’s own feathered hand that gripped his wrist. Irritation was added to Fox’s temper as he ripped his hand away, grabbed his clothes, and proceeded to dress himself. “I’ll wrap it up with what’s in the first aid kit.” _More damn time I have to spend doing something freaking useless!_

Falco sighed. “You’re at least going to freaking eat.” He turned and walked out of the room. “Slippy’s waiting.”

 

……………………………………….

 

            Lucy and Fox were now alone. Fox continued to dress himself whilst Lucy silently observed. She felt the urge to say something helpful, give some mediating advice to help Falco and him get along, but nothing suitable came to mind. She also felt the urge to leave; dressed only in his boxer briefs and slipping on his second black moisture wick sock, the decent thing to do would be to give him privacy until he was completely dressed. _But here’s another chance to tell him._ She thought as her heart rate rose. _I wouldn’t even have to say anything, I could simply… No._ Lucy turned and walked out of the room as quick as she could.

            Her face burned red as she internally lectured herself for her rash thinking. _Now is not the time!_ She continued to walk down the hallway, unsure of where she was even headed, at a pace faster than that of one jogging slowly.

 

……………………………………

 

            Amanda sat, her rounded jaw resting on her fist, at a long steel table in the kitchen of the Great Fox II as she watched Slippy determinedly stirred away at some Gornt cubes he had cooking in a small pan on the kitchen stove. To Amanda, he seemed blissfully lost in his work as he juggled between agitating the meat and sifting through a variety of spices and sauces, looking for just the right ones to add quality flavor to the dish. It made her sick.

            “How do you do it?” She asked.

            Slippy answered but didn’t take his eyes off his project. “Cooking is just something I’ve always enjoyed doing. Get involved in it enough, and you pick up enough tips and recipes to make anybody a decent chef. With Gornt for example, I tak-”

            “Not the cooking you…” Amanda’s agitation kindled as she cut him off, but she forced herself to swallow the rest of her sentence. _I love you, but sometimes…_ “How do you go about things as if nothing is wrong in the universe?”

            Slippy looked back at her and blinked blankly. “What do you mean, my lovely water lily?”

            That did it. His stupidity had already lit the fire, but the buttered up title added the fuel. Amanda slapped the hand her jaw was resting on down on the table. “Allow me to spell it out for you! Krystal, our old and dearly treasured team mate has been shot down and captured. Our leader dove head first into _hell_ to save her, coming back empty and looking as if he had been to its deepest trenches! And responsible for it all is Andross jr. who plans to end everything by a means that we don’t even know of yet; brutally _torturing, maiming_ , and _using_ Krystal as leverage so Fox will-” Amanda fell silent. During her lecture, Slippy’s face had slowly revealed the side it had brilliantly been hiding the entire time. He stood there staring towards the ground, more crestfallen than Amanda had ever seen him.

            After a moment of silence, Slippy spoke. “It’s… it’s just another day in the life… right?”

            Amanda opened her mouth to say something, but she caught herself upon noticing Slippy wasn’t finished.

            Slippy continued. “I mean… we’ve been down before. We almost lost Peppy twice, Falco abandoned us for a period of time, Fox himself has been hardly a centimeter from death more times than I can remember…” Slippy turned back to the Gornt filled pan and continued stirring as he talked. “But… we’ve never been out… we’ve always pulled through.” He switched over to some broccoli he had boiling in a pot and removed it from the stove burner, pensively carrying it over to the sink to be drained of its water. “It’s no different from now. It doesn’t matter how dire, how gruesome, or how horrific the threat; we’ll pull through.” Slippy said, attempting a smile as he finished straining the pot and returned it to the stove top; turning off its assigned burner. “Fox and us will pull through… right?”

            Amanda had gone from feeling angry to lost. She looked away and rested her forehead in one of her hands as she breathed a sigh. “He mutilated one of her arms, right in front of him. Death is bad, but that…” She paused, looking for the right words to finish her sentence; but they never came.

            It was some time before she finally heard Slippy croak, “I’m just glad it wasn’t you.”

            That stole every word, every thought, even her very breath away from her as a towering amount of guilt fell upon her. She looked over at Slippy and found him staring a hole into the floor. Amanda stood up and rushed right over to him. “Oh baby…” She cooed as she embraced him in her arms, _what a bitch I am…_ “I’m so sorry…”

            Tears began to escape Slippy’s eyes as he returned her loving hug. “I can’t imagine what he’s going through… I _never_ want to know…

            “And you never will baby, I love you.” Amanda said with all her passion, fighting hard to hold herself together.

            Slippy tightened his arms around her as his saltine drops continued to roll down his smooth, green cheeks. “I love you too, so much.”

            They continued to hold each other until the smell of burning meat slithered into their noses.

            “Gah! My Gornt cubes!” Slippy shrieked, nearly pushing Amanda over as he rushed to stir his burning meat. He almost ripped the burner heat nob off the stove when he switched it off to stop the Gornt from getting any crispier.

That’s when Amanda heard the thump. She looked toward the sound to see what she assessed as Fox’s limp body lying on its side on the kitchen floor by the entryway. “Fox!”

            Slippy appeared by her side while she checked Fox’s pulse and listening for his breathing.

            Fear protruded from Slippy’s eyes. “Is he-?”

            “Of course he’s still alive!” Amanda’s statement was confident, but the relief in her voice showed that at first, she too had feared the same. “The poor thing is just exhausted…” She noticed the bandage on his right wrist; the part of the bandage around his knuckles was slightly soaked with blood. “Oh Fox…” She said pityingly, “what have you done to yourself.

            “He’s probably starving, especially if he’s lost blood!” Slippy added. “I’ll grab some water.”

            “He can’t drink right now!?” Amanda irritably exclaimed.

            “Ice cold water!” Slippy explained as he made his way to the fridge.

            “You aren’t gonna...”

            Upon his return, Slippy was carrying an entire pitcher of refrigerated water.

            “Slippy!” Amanda scolded.

            “He’d be angrier if we waited for him to wake, you know how much of a rush he’s in.”

            Finding no further ways to argue, Amanda hesitantly looked back at Fox.

            Slippy positioned the pitcher’s spout about half a meter above his head. “Sorry Fox…” He said sincerely as he began pouring the chilling liquid on Fox’s head, taking care not to pour it directly into his ears, eyes, or nose.

            Moments later, Fox awoke with a start; spitting any water from his lips and shaking any from the fur on his head. Afterwards he just continued to lay on the ground, breathing deeply from the shock of the icy water.

            Slippy knelt down beside his friend. “You scared us for a second their Fox.”

            Fox said nothing, just continued staring into the wall he faced; looking as he did when they had first brought him back.

            “Can you tell us what happened?” Amanda asked, still staring at his bandaged hand.

            Fox remained unresponsive.

            Slippy gently grabbed Fox’s chin and maneuvered it so that Fox’s gaze faced his. This time Fox’s eyes moved to meet Slippy’s own pupils. Slippy spoke in a guiding manner hoping to finally get through to him. “We’re gonna get you into a chair at the table and finally get some grub in your stomach. Think you can walk if we help you over there?”

            Fox’s eyes fell to the ground. Moments later, he found his voice. “I can manage _walking_ on my own.” He said as he started to push himself off of the ground.

            “Oh I say different!” Amanda objected, moving in to help Slippy support Fox’s weight. “We don’t need you falling over again.” When she noticed that Fox was about to give a rebuttal, she added, “Neither does Krystal.”

            That shut him up. Fox reluctantly relaxed and allowed both Slippy and Amanda to help him over to a chair at the kitchen table. Once sitting, Fox rested both his elbows on the table and buried his head in his hands.

            Slippy placed a hand on Fox’s shoulder. “Now I’m gonna mix up your dinner and get you some energizer to drink, don’t go anywhere on me.” Fox gave no sign of response, but Slippy hadn’t waited for one anyway. Amanda remained at Fox’s side, pulling up a seat next to him and contemplating if there was anything she could do to help ease his anxiety and nearly unbearable guilt. She ventured to touch and slowly rub his back, but he seemed to tense up all the more as she rubbed.

            “It’s not your fault.” She offered as a healing comment.

Amanda nearly jumped out of her skin as Fox instantaneously slammed both his fists down on the table, “Yes it is my fault! Every bit of her suffering is my fault!” Fox launched out of his chair, pointing at himself as he continued to lecture Amanda. “Everything I ever did put her in harm’s way! Letting her join Star Fox led to her being in danger on our missions! Kicking her off led to her joining up with Star Wolf! Fighting that _bastard_ Panther led to her hurdling down to Venom! Now, when I actually had a chance to set things right and save her, I GOT HER ARM BLOWN OFF!”

Amanda jumped up and met Fox’s wrath with as controlled of a demeanor as she could manage. “You know as well as we do that you were looking out for her safety.”

It took everything Fox had to keep himself from flipping the table ahead of him. “Did you not hear me?! I said her ARM, is FUCKING, OBLITERATED! How the HELL did I PROTECT HER?!”

Amanda’s calm failed her as her volume began to rise. “She made her own choices! She _chose_ to chase after you after you saved Dinosaur Planet! She _chose_ to join Star Wolf after you removed her from the team! And she _chose_ to put herself between you and Panther in order to SAVE YOUR LIFE! She knows you care for her Fox; she still feels the same! She wouldn’t have done what she did had she not!”

“CARES FOR ME?!” Fox lost control as he rear kicked the chair behind him and send it crashing into the wall about two and a half meters behind him. “I SHATTERED HER HEART! You weren’t there that night in the alley! Her tears, OH HER TEARS!” Fox grasped his head, crumpling his ears as he fell to his knees in his fit of crying.

Amanda’s voice caught in her throat. She had dealt with worse screaming duels in her life, but she had _never_ seen someone so mentally affected by their own history.

Fox quietly sobbed for a moment longer before adding. “Her tears then, and her tears now. I had broken her mentally and now… I’ve broke her physically…”

Silence took control of the room as even a single breath could hardly be heard. Amanda was now at a loss for words. She still wanted to help, but after what just went down she was afraid of making things worse than she already had.

 

………………………………………………

 

Slippy had stood by as the silent observer. It wasn’t new to him for Fox to be so hard on himself, as well as how impossible it was to change that perception. If Fox was convinced he was in the wrong, he might as well have slaughtered an entire village of innocent kits. Slippy crept over to his wife and whispered to her, “Let me talk to him for a bit. I’m sure the others are on their way if they heard any of that. Would you keep them at bay while Fox and I chat?”

Amanda seemed nervous of leaving her husband alone with Fox, but she eventually gave a light smile. “All right honey.” She kissed Slippy on the forehead. “I’ll be right outside in case you need me.”

With that Amanda stepped out of the kitchen and closed the door behind her. Slippy looked down at Fox, who was still weeping on the floor with his hands clamped tightly around his skull. Slippy made his way around to and knelt down in front of his childhood friend. Fox acknowledged Slippy’s presence by releasing his own head and looking up at him. Slippy’s heart broke a little at the sight of Fox’s eyes. All hope was nearly gone from them, the only fire left was from a seemingly programed determination that only the ending of his life would extinguish.

Fox spoke. “I have to free her from this Slippy, I won’t go on in this galaxy if I don’t.”

Slippy said nothing, just continued to look upon his friend with pity.

“I do not deserve a single breath until she is back with Star Wolf, back with… Panther…”

After a couple of seconds had gone by, Slippy gave a slight nod and patted Fox on the shoulder. “Well you can’t go rescuing a damsel in distress with next to no energy. You need food Fox, so why don’t you go retrieve your poor chair back there and grab yourself a spot at the table. I’ll throw your plate together, you’re gonna love it!”

Fox breathed a pathetic laugh as a smile crept onto his face. “Thanks Slippy.” He said, another tear slipping down his cheek.

Slippy gave Fox a smile and another pat on the shoulder before hurrying back to his ingredients. “You’re gonna get through this.” He announced over his shoulder as he worked. He tossed the Gornt meat and broccoli on a plate together, mixed it up, then poured some tangy, store-bought sauce over it all. He then walked over and placed the plate in front of Fox, who had forced himself back into his place at the table, with a fork he grabbed from one of the counter drawers; afterwards grabbing the spot Amanda originally was in.

Fox gave Slippy another word of thanks before picking up his eating utensil and going to take his first bite, however the end of the fork came to a halt right outside his mouth. Fox continued to hold it there, his face portraying the struggle he was facing to bring it the rest of the way. He finally surrendered as he lowered the utensil back onto the plate, screwing his eyes shut as his head fell and hung above his dish. “Why… was I such a coward? Why didn’t I let her choose for herself when I had her?”

“Because you care for her and you wanted her safe-”

Fox took a breath to respond with, but Slippy jumped to it first. “REGARDLESS, of what ended up happening; your intentions were for her safety. Even if you had chosen to keep her with us, she very well could have been… you know… _hurt_ , with us; with you. It’s not really possible to see the future.”

Fox still didn’t look back up. “At least she would’ve been happy.”

“We screw up sometimes.” Slippy said, cracking a grin. “What matters is we do everything we can to redeem our mistakes. From what I can tell, you are doing just that! Minus one thing…”

Fox looked up at Slippy curiously, his eyes red and dry from the tears he had completely expended.

“Eat!” Slippy commanded.

Fox gave an embarrassed smile as he looked back down at his food. “I wish my stomach was more cooperative…”

“It’s not your stomach Fox, it’s your heart. For Krystal’s sake, force it down; bite by bite. I think you’ll find your stomach’ll come to its senses.”

Fox chuckled as he raised his fork and took his first bite. The food lit up his taste buds as the meat, though a bit overdone, squeezed out its juices from the pressure of Fox’s teeth and mixed with the sweet, piquant sauce drizzled over it. Even the broccoli added its own wonderfully unique flavor. If only he didn’t have that sickly feeling that continued to plague his emotions, this would’ve been a meal Fox would’ve thoroughly enjoyed. However he did as his friend had told him and continued eating; bite by bite. Halfway through his dish, Fox paused again. “How do you do it?”

Slippy looked at Fox nervously curious. _Why do people keep asking me questions and expect me to know their subject?!_

Fox sensed his friend’s confusion. “With Amanda… knowing each day that she could… die; by your side.”

Slippy had to think for a moment before answering. “You know… it’s… it’s a partnership. She too faces the same thing. I very well could die by her side, has she left me?”

Fox’s gut grew tight and suddenly he felt like puking and losing consciousness again.

Slippy caught Fox’s expression and instantly wished he had said that better.

“I don’t mean to guilt trip you with that, it isn’t easy! It’s just…” Slippy searched for the words to keep going, yet fell at a loss.

Instead, Fox took the floor. “I heard you talking with Amanda… I know it’s not easy for you… but you still do it. Why couldn’t I… have seen it how you do…?”

Slippy milled the question over in his mind. He had never really realized how inspirational his relationship with Amanda was. Now he had his close friend since they were younglings, sitting in front of him in pieces, wishing he had made the same choices as he had. _Till now I had actually been modeling the amount of passion you had for Krystal._ Slippy thought. _You treated her better than I’ve_ ever _seen any male treat his mate, until she got kicked off… But even then, you did it out of love… and ultimately it was a choice that destroyed you; it’s still destroying you!_ Slippy decided to revert back to the best way to handle Fox. _I can’t make you forgive yourself, but I can assist you in redeeming yourself._

“I’m not an all wise one,” Slippy started out, “but I’m willing to bet that holding onto your past will not help you in saving her. You made bad choices, but the only way to get her back, to safety I mean, is to stop focusing on what you did, and stay focused on what you’re going to do.”

Fox looked down at his dish, as if to ask himself if facing his past was something he could actually do.

Upon seeing Fox’s continued struggle, Slippy added, “Don’t let her pain be what sinks you; let it be what fuels you! You may have put her there, but who _physically_ pulled that trigger?”

Slippy could hear Fox gritting his teeth behind his lips. “Dash.” He whispered.

“And now, who is the one responsible for getting her out?”

Fox didn’t answer this one, but for Slippy it wasn’t needed. He dropped his tone to one that commanded a decision be made; whether verbally or mentally. “What are you gonna do?”

Fox looked up at Slippy with determination. “I’m gonna do what I have to, to save her.” The vicious blood lust returned in Fox’s eyes. “Then I’m gonna slaughter Andross’ grandson.”

 

…………………………………………………………

 

Amanda had stood outside the door of the kitchen the entire time, waiting for either Fox or Slippy, or both, to emerge. As her husband had predicted, Falco showed up hardly twenty seconds after Fox’s outburst; ready to bust a certain head. Amanda deeply savored the sweet taste of telling him to fly back to what he was previously doing and that she and Slippy had it under control. Unable to cut her off like he did back when they were conversing over the comm lines, Falco was no match for her stubbornness and had to turn away grumbling, “Just wait till he goes for one of your throats, you’ll come crying.”

Amanda’s blood boiled a little at that comment. _Why do you have to assume the worst with him, you arrogant-_

Finally the door slid open and Fox darted out, headed Lylat knew where. Amanda felt slight relief upon seeing a flame of hope and determination in his eyes. Her relief was mixed with confusion and slight worry when she switched eyes to her husband, who was now sitting with his head in one hand looking distressed. She walked into the kitchen and rested a hand on his shoulder. “Why the long face baby?”

Slippy breathed a sigh of defeat. “Why do I even try? I knew it wasn’t a good idea to try, I just… thought I was doing great!”

Amanda gave his shoulder a positive shake. “Looks like you did great to me, he bolted outta here looking ready to save Krystal two times over!”

Slippy inhaled through his teeth as he sat up straight and looked at his wife. “Oh yeah, I got him hyped to save Krystal, as well as ‘slaughter Andross’ grandson’…”

Amanda slowly released her grip on Slippy’s shoulder as she turned away from him and starred towards the doorway. “I don’t blame him.”

“You don’t get it.” Slippy stated. “I mean he legitimately wants to slaughter Dash. You didn’t see the look in his eyes, the grit of his teeth, the snarl of his snout. He wants that ape’s blood; bad!”

Amanda whirled around and faced her husband. Her growing sympathy for Fox pushing her towards a hostile defense. “And who can blame him?! You know what he did to her! Why wouldn’t he?! Wouldn’t you?!”

Slippy looked down at the grated floor. “I don’t blame him, I-I wouldn’t blame anyone, but this is Fox we’re talking about; well hearted Fox. The Fox that always seeks the absolute best solution to every situation. If he succumbs to this world of madness he’s been tossed into, who is he going to come out as?”

Amanda was caught without a reply.

Slippy looked up and met her face to face. “To murder Dash in cold blood, would be to murder himself as we know him.”

 

……………………………………………

 

 

 _What are you thinking?!_ Lucy lectured herself. _He’s been beaten, captured, tortured, and threatened into a world of hell, and you’re wanting to spark up romance?! Stupid Lucy! Stupid, stupid, stupid!_ Lucy finally pulled herself out of her head enough to see where her legs had taken her; the hallway that split the Great Fox II’s hanger.

The passage stretched a good one hundred meters, matching the length of both bays, and every twenty-five meters were duly placed openings big enough to allow large crates and equipment to be passed over to the adjacent hanger. All of these openings had an emergency force field barricade in case the shields to each hanger spacecraft entrance were ever to go down. The walls to the hallway could also be drawn into the floor via the control panels in the bridge or a smaller panel in the hanger itself; this allowed larger items such as star fighters to pass between the bays. Feeling relief at seeing and hearing that it was completely empty, Lucy crossed over into the starboard side hanger and picked a spot on the outside wall of the hallway, slid to the floor, and hung her head between her knees.

 _You aren’t even on his mind right now, how could you be?! The real love of his life is the one that he’s been threatened with, what kind of male would he be if he had anything but rescuing her on his mind?! Stupid! Stupid Lucy!_ Then came the thought that always kept her hope burning, if only it didn’t keep her confusion equally alive. _He’s never kicked me off. He’s looked out for me very closely and never put me in any danger greater than they each face individually, but he’s also trusted me to look out for myself._

She lifted her head up as her eyes danced around to different spots on the floor, as if her mind were spread out on the ground and she was skimming through its content. _Could that trust be something he simply doesn’t have for Krystal? One that he couldn’t form? Does that mean… maybe… she was more of a burden to him? He could’ve loved her, at one point, but maybe upon discovering her inability to adequately protect herself, she became a liability to him? Just like every other civilian in this world?_

 _Stupid Lucy! Stupid, stupid, stupid! He loves her! He’s nearly gone insane over her brutal imprisonment._ Yet a certain word began to burn in her head that weakened the love factor. _Attachment. He tried to free himself of that responsibility, but his past love for her gave him an attachment that upon learning she had put herself back in danger by joining Star Wolf, he’s automatically re-assumed his role as protector._

_Maybe he wants to move on, that’s why he’s let me stay. It could be that he doesn’t care for me, that my fate on this team doesn’t matter as much to him as Krystal’s did… But if that were true, then me being Peppy Hare’s daughter would have still put enough weight on him to want to kick me off as well. He’s not a coward though, he can accept the responsibility of a life; I’m the proof! But his attachment to Krystal is keeping him from moving on…_

The sound of approaching footsteps severed her from her thoughts. Lucy lightly hopped to her feet, pressed herself as close to the wall as she could, and listened. She heard the comer walk within a few feet of the wall behind which she was hiding, but then the steps trailed off towards the port hanger. Curious to find out who it was, Lucy kneeled down, laid her ears flat along the back of her head, and peeked around the corner of one of the openings.

Keeping the starboard hanger reserved for their aircraft, the portside side bay was used for storage. The only cargo the team really had was food, hygiene, and medical crates; about a month’s supply at a time. The team never purchased more in case they were ever to lose their mother ship, as they lost the first Great Fox. ‘No sense in spending all our funds in a year’s worth of supplies we could essentially lose anytime.’ Was Fox’s reckoning. They did invest in plenty of repair parts for the vital organs of the ship. ‘Better to have those and not need them, than the latter.’ Was Slippy’s reckoning, which Fox and the team couldn’t agree more. However these took up a large amount of space in the port bay. Crates full of engine room parts, wiring and circuit boards, backup battery cells and generators, as well as stacks of panels and wire made of a strong metal alloy for emergency welding nearly covered the portside floor. At first Lucy had seen nothing but the cargo they stored in the opposing bay, but then Fox stepped into her sight. Lucy instantly ducked back behind the concealment of her wall, praying he hadn’t seen her.

Upon hearing a crate being pried open and dug into, she crouched even lower, laid her ears back, and peered back out to observe. Out of a crate that kept him in her view, Fox had pulled about five food cans; pausing on the last can. He stared at it closely as his grip on it slowly tightened. His eyes screwed shut and his entire body began to tense and shiver. As quickly as it had begun, Fox shook himself of it and disappeared into the cargo.

Lucy rolled back into a sitting position and laid her head against the wall a bit harder than she meant to. “Ow…” She whispered as she brought her head forward and gently rubbed the back of it. _Love or attachment…?_ She asked herself as she began to analyze what she’d seen. _Either way, he’d had a thought that brought him pain, immense pain…_ Lucy recalled the veins she had noticed bulging through the skin and fur on his neck alongside the muscles that defined it. She felt a little foolish, but she couldn’t help allowing sights like that to feed her attraction to him. The image of him standing in his boxer briefs flashed back in her head. She blushed and immediately tried to erase it, but it had already left its imprint. Her mind traced over Fox’s lean, well defined body. Even in his usual clothing that he currently wore, certain routine movements he made gave hints of the muscles sculpted onto his frame. Fox was never a gym addict, from what she knew of him, but she did catch him indulging himself in calisthenics and mission based training whenever time permitted, and everyone on Star Fox knew that he kept his eating habits as healthy as the team’s budget would allow.

Lucy’s ears picked up Fox walking back out of the collection of crates. She looked back around the corner in the same low to the ground way she had before and watched. Fox stepped out of sight for a moment, but came back carrying a fully automatic laser rifle. He made a few adjustments to the switches and bolts on the rifle, then entered a power cell. Lucy gazed admirably at him, aweing over his confident and knowledgeable actions. _You always look like such a soldier._

Afterwards, Fox raised the blaster into a firm firing position and fired at the roof of the hanger. Lucy could tell by the sound the shot made upon contact that it was simply a stun blast. The team never trained using full powered laser shots while in the Great Fox. With that, Fox turned towards the city of cargo. His shoulders slowly lifted and fell as if he had taken a deep breath. Then he crouched and shouted, “Firing!” Before heading back into the crates.

Lucy fell back to her sitting position. _You are a soldier, just look at your sense of duty…_ This was her biggest reason for her attraction towards him: the soldier in him. Fox himself refused to see it, he thought himself rather weak at times and never in his life claimed to be one of the best fighters known to the universe. Lucy wished he could see what she did. _You have bravery, you have mental strength, and you put them both into your determination! It’s your greatest quality, but also your greatest weakness… You’ve created this allegiance to Krystal that you cannot break, you’re determined to see her safety through to the end, even if it means trading the galaxy for her!_

The hope inside herself began to grow with excitement. _What if you were shown another way…? That someone else cares for you like she did, someone you can put trust in. Someone you could love without having to babysit. What choice would you make?_ Lucy heard Fox curse himself at a poor shot he had taken. Pity mixed with her emotions. _What are you doing Fox? You’re going to kill yourself over this…_

Her heart began to race with disbelief that she was actually considering telling him. _This is stupid Lucy! If you’re wrong, you could lose any respect that he possibly has for you, he could begin to HATE you! The entire group would consider you crazy, self-absorbed, and selfish! You might just buy your own ticket back home teaching astrophysics again…_

Lucy shuttered at that thought. She had enjoyed teaching about the nature of the vast amounts stars and planets to the younger generations, watching their eyes light up daily at the glory they held; but nothing could compare to experiencing that glory in person. Being surrounded by the bright, vibrant colors and shapes of each individual piece of the galaxy was nothing short of a dream; a dream that she was able to live out through her career with Star Fox. It was an addiction, her first love. She couldn’t go back to that university, not after what she’d gotten a taste of.

 _But if I’m right…_ her pulse grew faster. _Could I… Would he… bring an end to all this before it begins?_ Lucy looked back around the corner, her ears focusing back on the blasts that Fox continued to emit from his rifle. _Could we actually… be together?_ The sounds were slightly muffled through the blood that was now violently pumping through her ears. Her head spun as her wrists and chest began to noticeably beat through her skin. _I have to try… if there’s any chance I have of saving him, I have to try!_

Her decision was made. She slowly rose to her feet, building the energy she needed to fight the tightness in her throat in order to announce a cease fire. She took a deep breath and opened her mouth.

“Entering the hanger!”

Lucy’s eyes grew wide as her entire body stopped pulsing. She quickly slammed herself back against the wall she used as her concealment. Once she resumed breathing she crouched and peered back around into the passageway to see who was coming.

 

……………………………………….

 

Falco casually walked down the hallway that split the Great Fox’s hanger into two bays. He strolled down to the second set of openings and turned towards the one on the port side. “Entering the hanger!” He shouted as loud he could. Out of the maze of crates and materials stepped Fox, carrying a fully automatic laser rifle in a patrol ready position.

“How much time ya got left?” Falco asked as he came to a halt.

            “Three hours, fifty-eight minutes.” Fox answered without even checking the watch on his wrist.

            “And what are you up to right now?”

            “Target practice and maneuvers. You need something?”

            Falco shrugged in his care free manner. “Just checkin’ up on ya.”

            “I’m fine. Now please either leave or stay right where you are so that you don’t end up getting stunned.” With that Fox turned and headed back into the cargo. He had sounded more earnest and stressed than irritated.

 _Someone’s pumped full of anxiety._ Falco thought with condolence as he followed after Fox.“All these drills are gonna end up exhausting you before your actual task. You already need rest from what you previously went through.”

            Fox gave no response, he just continued through the vast setup of assorted crates; stopping at every cluster of two to three vegetable and/or soup cans he found on the floor to set them back on top of the metal box or boxes nearest to them.

            _Yeah, that’s what I’d say too._ Falco smirked, simultaneously assessing the cans to have come from the ship’s kitchen or one of the food crates here in the bay. He searched for a new way to investigate Fox’s head. “So… your watch, complements of Bowman?”

            “It was on my wrist when I woke up.” Fox said shortly. He had stopped at another couple of cans but only set one of them up on a crate, leaving the second standing up right on the ground as he continued on.

            _Now you’re starting to sound testy…_ Falco thought, but decided to keep probing anyway.“Woke up?” He nonchalantly asked. He caught Fox’s muscles tense at his continued questioning.

            “After Dash made his wishes clear to me, his crony put me under. Next thing I knew I was laying on the ground nearby where I crashed my fighter, with this-” Fox turned back towards Falco and held up his right arm to display the watch, “on my wrist.” With all the cans back in their intended place, Fox started to head back towards the perimeter of the ‘cargo city’.

            “Who’s the crony, a surviving member of Dash’s military?”

Fox stopped and closed as eyes as he breathed an irritated sigh. “It doesn’t matter.” He said sternly. He opened his eyes and resumed walking. “None of it matters.” He added as his tone calmed.

Falco gave another collected shrug as he followed. “Sorry, just tryin’ to get a background to your situation here. Look at the details and help you formulate a plan.” By the time he finished both he and Fox were back where they started.

“My plan...” Fox slightly shuffled his feet in place, his back was still to Falco. “I’ve been thinking it through over and over down here, and my task has been left as such a mystery that I have no idea who I’m meeting, where I’m meeting, where he or she will be taking me and what the heck it is I have to steal.” Fox looked down at his weapon and began to check various settings on it. “My only guess is it’s going to be something high tech, so it’s most likely going to be locked away in a secure facility inside an already heavily guarded section of the base.” Fox turned towards Falco, but his attention was directed towards different areas as he spoke his mind, as if visualizing his words. “Fly in? Better say a prayer before you challenge their countless surface to air defense systems.” Fox removed his supporting hand from his rifle to accompany his speech with gestures. “On foot? Maybe, but I won’t be able to sneak _any_ weapons in there; they’ll scan me head to toe. Even if I did make it all the way to the package without any trouble, there’s absolutely no way I could get it out. Even if the item was small and concealable, the scanners would pick it up underneath my clothing; that’s _if_ it wasn’t rigged from the start with an alarm that will go off when touched. I guess I could try to steal a guard’s weapon, fight past the rest of them as well as any sentry turrets, security fields, and Lylat knows what else; but I’m no special ops soldier. I know moderate level infantry tactics at best. I’ll be going up against countless highly trained soldiers who run close range combat drills in their spare time.”

Fox looked at Falco as a glint of hope appeared in his eyes. “The sewers was the second thing I considered. I’ve been having R.O.B. search the Cornerian data base for any structural information on Katina he can find.” He nodded in the direction one would have to head to reach the Great Fox II’s bridge.

Fox continued. “The few files he’s found that would be of use are classified. Now granted he can covertly hack into them, I might just have a way; but only if time will allow. If my contact on the ground isn’t willing to provide me an exact ‘address’-” Fox performed the quotation symbols with the fingers on his free hand, “of where it is I need to go, then that plan is dead in the water. There’d be no time to cross reference the entire surface layout with the layout of the tunnels.” Fox’s gaze fell towards the ground. “If I made an error or a wrong turn, Krystal would be good as dead.”

Fox looked back at Falco. “My _plan_ is to meet with this contact and hope to the powers above me that he or she has something in mind. Dash could hardly contain his excitement in telling me how he had it planned from the start to use me for this. He knows something, something that’s going to allow me to get him that equipment.”

Falco stared at Fox. “Take a moment and catch your breath.” He teased.

Fox turned away from Falco and towards the community of steel boxes, lifting his rifle again to make sure it was loaded. Afterwards he slowly lowered it, and a few moments past in complete silence. Finally he spoke again. “I have one shot to save her, Falco. I don’t have time for a second chance. Corneria’s gotten word of the uprising involving Venom and the rest of their response force is on its way. Bowman and his crony have plans to hold them off, but they can’t hold out forever. Whatever path I take on Katina has to work, or she dies.” With that, Fox tucked the weapon into his shoulder, kneeled to a low crouch position, and darted into the maze of crates. “Firing!” He shouted as he disappeared.

Falco directed his eyes to the floor. _And by death, you mean absolute mutilation. What the hell kind of universe is this? It’s not just a good ol’ shot to the head anymore. Either way, what we’re about to do is absolutely insane! No one deserves to go out like that, but we’re still talking one life versus trillions! But I’m probably blowing it out of the water, he’ll just enslave us all once he’s been named king of Lylat._

Falco blew out a long, dramatic exhale while he commenced rubbing his cranium, continuing on his train of thought. Then with the slicking back of the feathers on his head he stated, “Hell, I guess we can try to take back what we stole after she’s safe. If not, I’ve never had an issue with running from the law before.”

“I’m going to kill him.” Fox spoke with menacing sincerity as he came back out of his combat range.

Falco had nearly jumped. _Either you’re fast, or I was in my head for longer than I thought. Deeper than I thought too…_ He hadn’t heard a single shot.

Fox was looking him dead in the eye. “I’ll die with him if that’s what it takes, but I will kill him.”

Falco studied Fox closely. _Damn…_ The soul hungry tone of Fox’s voice sent a chill up his spine. _You aren’t lying._

Before either of them could think any further, R.O.B.’s voice came over the ship’s intercom. “STATUS REPORT, THE FILES HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY DOWNLOADED AND ARE READY FOR VIEW. WE ARE ALSO APPROACHING KATINA, ETA TEN MINUTES.”

Fox unloaded the rifle, switched the safety back on, and set both the rifle and the cartridge down on one of the nearby crates. “Guess practice is over…” His voice became low and dismal, as if the weight of what was about to be attempted just hit him. Fox turned around and headed towards the hallway that would lead him to the bridge. “You coming?” He asked Falco over his shoulder.

Falco started off after him “You kidding? You ain’t leaving me behind in this gray, dreary place.”

 

…………………………….......

 

            Lucy listened to the two sets of footsteps fade into the distance, leaving her in silence. She looked around at the gray, rusted steel walls that towered over her from all sides. _‘You aren’t leaving me alone in this gray, dreary place.’ Darn it Falco, why’d you have to say that?!_ She replayed the whole conversation in her head, recalling the passion in Fox’s voice when he spoke of Krystal. Her attention was drawn back to the walls. Their tall presence suddenly felt damning, as if they were burning her with a fiery stare.

 _You are being so selfish! Why are you so concerned about where Fox’s heart is when lives are at stake?!_ The answer came instantly. _Because he could lose his life to this. If there’s any chance I could talk him out of this madness… What if you’re wrong Lucy?_ Lucy sounded a frustrated grunt as she grabbed both her ears, one in each hand, and yanked them down the sides of her head. The pain felt nothing less than deserving; it ignited a headache that her indecisiveness fueled without sparing. She shut her eyes tightly and prayed. _What do I do? Am I just to sit back and wait this out? Let him go and hope he survives?!_ Her hands dropped to her sides as her ears slowly rose to their natural position. She sat still for minutes on end until she reached a conclusion. _You’ll wait. Maybe the task will provide him an answer so I won’t have too. Katina’s forces should only capture him at worst._

She felt sick to her stomach at the thought of what that would result in. She knew Krystal only through short confrontations with her via Star Fox’s interactions with Star Wolf, primarily during the Angler Blitz, but the fate that awaited the blue vixen was one that not even the darkest of souls deserved. The only thing that slightly eased Lucy’s nausea was Falco’s logic of trading one life for billions. _But what about Fox? Her death will kill him right alongside her, how much of himself would he lose? Could his mind be repaired from that burden? If I’m wrong, if he does truly love Krystal, he’d be lost forever._ Lucy stood up and began to make her way over to the large force field that separated the Great Fox hanger from the vacuum of space. _But if I’m right, we could pull him out of it. We could save him, and then I’d confess._ Her heart began racing along with the stars that appeared to dart away from the large vessel as it traveled to Katina. She felt she was diving into her own world of madness. _Am I hoping for a fantasy? Or could this be real?_ Lucy closed her eyes and bowed her head. _I’ll wait. One way or another his future will be set, and whichever way it heads will determine my chances._

 _What if he makes it? What if he obtains what he’s after and escapes Katina? He’ll go after her. He’ll return to Venom where his chances of survival are even slimmer._ Lucy had every doubt in her mind that Dash would just let Fox and/or Krystal walk away. _Am I just going to let him walk to the guillotine without trying? Without saying a word? Would it matter if I did? Would I appear the selfish, coldhearted dunce? Or would I open his eyes to the chance of a life of freedom? A life where he no longer had to play protector?_ Lucy gave a light, drawn out sigh. _It’s a gamble Lucy, there’s no denying it. Is the chance worth your position on this team and the respect you have from its members?_ Lucy opened her eyes and looked back out towards the never ending amount of stars the Great Fox barreled past as it drew close to its destination. _It won’t be long until I find out._

 

……………………………………

 

“These could work, I just wish we knew where you were going.” Slippy said as he anxiously continued to scan the map of Katina’s sewer system layout over and over.

Fox turned away from the cylindrical holographic table the map was projected from, looking out the bridge’s observation window toward the desert planet that was their destination; watching it increase in size as they drew closer. He began to feel his fear creep up his spine, stimulating every hair on his back to stand. Fortunately through determination, he was able to keep his tail from fluffing. “We can’t even land until I know where I’m supposed to meet my liaison.”

Falco was leaning against the control panel that stretched out from the steel wall right underneath the glass of the observation window; hardly a couple meters from Fox. “You could always try the visitor center.” He said with a cool smirk, arms folded, and eyes lazily shut; as if he were napping.

Fox showed no reaction to Falco’s sarcasm. He only responded, “I might have to if no one contacts me soon.”

Falco glanced at Fox, then shrugged as he looked over at the 3D map of Katina’s sewer system.

Slippy and R.O.B. were continuously scanning over the hundreds of sections that could be accessed from inside any high security portion of the planet, then tracing the underground tunnels to any area that could be used as an extraction point. Slippy announced his next fact. “We’d also have to worry about flooding. Nearly half of these tunnels are going to be filled with water, which is going to make an escape even more difficult...”

“And a dead end would be a dead end in more ways than one…” Fox mumbled. His fear spiked; causing his pupils to dilate as the fur all over his body rippled from the chilling wave that swept through his body. He could come up with all the plans and alternative options that the mind could comprehend. He could gear up with the best uniform, weapons, and gadgets ever designed. He could train till he dropped, educating himself in every area of combat that would prove useful; but none of it would matter if the mission were to end in failure. _Krystal would suffer… suffer slowly until her body shut down from the unbearable torment, torment that I brought upon her!_ Fox tensed.

“But where there’s a problem,” Slippy continued. “There’s a solution. It’s still sketchy, this whole operation is! But if we were to find you a good tunnel to slip into, and if we could find an entry point to that same tunnel from an isolated location, we could use Amanda’s Tadpole to retrieve you!”

Fox ran it through his mind. Just like every other idea, it had the potential to succeed, but it had the same potential to fail. There was no sure fire way through this. All Fox could do was choose, dive in head first, and pray that he would surface. _Please…_ He internally begged. _Please, for her sake, let me fix this. You’ve taken both my parents away from me, please don’t take her! It’s my fault she’s there! You can have me once she’s safe, but let me end her pain!_ Rarely in his life had Fox turned to prayer. His life had taught him that when bad things happen, you can either sit, wait, and pray for something that may not deliver, or you can adapt to your struggles and keep moving. However when prayer was the only thing left to do, even Fox would fall on his knees and beg for the allegiance of the powers above him.

Falco groaned lightly as he stood up and let his arms fall to his sides. “How long exactly are you going to wait for this guy?”

Fox’s gaze fell to the floor as he closed his eyes. “I don’t know… let’s go ahead and make contact with Katina security and ask for permission to land.”

Falco looked at Fox with a bored expression. “And what reason for our visit are we going to give them that you expect to be believed?”

Fox looked back towards the planet. “That we’re headed to the freaking visitor center.” He said expressionless.

Falco chuckled as he leaned back up against the control panel, grasping the edge to both sides of him with his hands for extra support. “This will be interesting.”

“SHALL I MAKE CONTACT?” R.O.B inquired.

Fox sighed through his nose. “Go ahead.”

Everyone fell silent while R.O.B. began to input the commands into the keypad embedded in the holographic table to send a call out to Katina. The 3D map of the sewer lines disintegrated and was replace by a model of Katina. The model had a one meter radius and a flashing red dot marked and displayed the exact location the team was reaching out to. The table sounded a light, repeating beeping noise that indicated that connection had not yet been made. Around seven seconds passed before the planet switched out with the upper portion of a uniformed bear that looked as if he snacked at his work station all day and only stood up to relieve himself or go home. “Identify yourself.” The bear ordered.

Fox turned around and faced the hologram. “This is Fox McCloud, leader of Star Fox.”

The bear shifted his eyes toward something ground-ward; pecking could be heard as if he were typing away at a keyboard. “I have you here McCloud, state your business.”

“Requesting permission to… dock.” _Gosh, what the heck_ am I _gonna say?_

“I’m going to need a where and why.”

Fox could tell the bear was easily getting agitated. Fox blanked, giving a quick glance at Falco who just mouthed, ‘visitor center’ with a wide, teasing grin. _C’mon Fox, think of something!_ Fox drew a quick inhale. “We’re headed to one of your main docks to-”

“Wait, wait!” The bear exclaimed. “I apologize for missing this before, but your identification has a notification uploaded to it that has orders for you… to head to the main intelligence headquarters in the thirty second quadrant of Katina. It says you are to dock at that exact harbor and… await security to board and search out your vessel for any active threats. Uhhh… once you’re cleared, you and a Slippy Toad will be escorted through the security gate that surrounds the headquarters and lead to the entrance where you will rendezvous with a Captain Dalles. He will inform you further from there... Any questions?”

Relief gave fox his breath, put panic stole it right back. On one side he sent up a thank you for the first part of his prayer being answered, but on the other side he was gravely alarmed that not only his presence was requested, but Slippy’s as well. The mission had just become more complicated. Fox now had to worry about getting his best friend out alive as well as himself. _Damn it Dash!_ He fought hard to keep himself composed. _How dare you go and drag one more member of my family into this!_ Fox looked over at Slippy who appeared just as flabbergasted.

“Hello?” The bear asked irritably.

Fox pipped up. “No, no… we understand. We’re on our way to the thirty second quadrant. Have a great rest of your day.”

“Thank you.” The bear said, his voice making it all too obvious of his relief to finally be off the call. He faded from the table, and the blue lighting fell dark.

Falco was the first to speak. “How the hell does a blob like that keep his position in the military?” His face looked as if he were actually giving the matter a little thought as he continued to stare at the holographic table where the bear once had been.

Fox nor Slippy even heard him. The two simply re-locked their deeply surprised eyes.

 _This isn’t happening…_ Fox thought as he intensely analyzed what he was just told over and over in his head.

“Well,” Slippy said with a nervous smile, breaking the momentary silence. “I guess I’ve always wanted to see the inside of the universe’s intelligence capitol…”


End file.
